tihvary  of  t1\e  theological  ^eminarjo 


PRINCETON  •  NEW  JERSEY 


•d^D* 


PRESENTED  BY 

W.V/.  Wood. ward  III 
BV  4070  .N8 9 35  1887 
Shanks,  T.  J. , 
A  college  of  colleges 


A  COLLEGE  OF  COLLEGES. 


.  ^ 


COLLEGE  OF  COLLEGES 

LED    BY    D.    L.    MOODY, 


AND    TAUGHT    BY 


PROF.  HENRY  DRUMMOND,  F.R.S.E.,  F.G.S. ;  MR.  JOSEPH  COOK;  THE 

REV.  JOHN  A.  BROADUS,  D.D.,  LL.D.;  PROF.  L.  T.  TOWNSEND; 

THE  REV.  A.  T.  PIERSON,  D.D. ;  AND  THE  REV.  JACOB 

CHAMBERLAIN,  M.D.,  D.D.,  WITH  OTHERS. 


EDITED   BY   T.   J.    SHANKS. 


FLEMING    H.    REVELL. 
CHICA.GO:  I  NEW  YORK: 

148  AND  150  Madison  Street.  |  12  Bible  House. 

Publisher  of  Evangelical  Literature. 


COPYRIGHT,    1887,    BY 
FLEMING    H.    REVELL. 


Edward  O.  Jenkins'   Sons, 

Printers  and  Stereotypers^ 

20  North  William  St.,  New  York. 


PREFACE 


The  "  Summer  School  for  College  Students,"  held  at 
Northfield,  Massachusetts,  from  June  30  to  July  12,  1887, 
was  an  occasion  in  many  respects  without  precedent. 
During  the  twelve  days  of  its  continuance,  at  least  four 
hours  each  day  were  spent  in  listening  to  addresses  and 
discussions  of  signal  value.  To  attempt  to  reflect  in 
print  the  entire  proceedings  of  the  public  meetings,  not 
to  speak  of  the  informal  conferences,  would  require  a 
library  rather  than  a  single  volume.  Hence,  in  the  prep- 
aration of  the  present  work,  the  omission  of  a  vast  quan- 
tity of  matter  well  worthy  of  preservation  was  inevitable. 
Included  therein  were  several  important  discourses 
which  were  dropped  with  the  less  regret  inasmuch  as 
they  have  either  been  published  in  substance  elsewhere, 
or  are  frequently  delivered  in  the  course  of  evangelistic 
work.  The  brevity  of  the  time — four  weeks — assigned 
for  the  execution  of  the  task  has  precluded  the  possi- 
bility of  securing  a  revision  by  the  several  speakers  of 
the  transcript  of  their  words.  Nevertheless  it  is  believed 
that  the  extemporaneous  form  of  their  utterances — less 
finished,  perhaps,  than  a  strictly  literary  form  would  be, 
yet  certainly  not  less  fresh,  flowing,  and  readable — has 
been  accurately  reproduced.     It  will  be  observed  that 

(3) 


4  PREFACE. 

in  the  arrangement  of  the  sequence  of  chapters,  the  topics 
of  the  addresses  have  determined  their  position.  First 
appear  those  which  are  introductory  and  apologetic  ; 
next  follow  several  which  illustrate  methods  of  Bible 
study  and  expound  great  Scriptural  truths  ;  and  the  col- 
lection closes  with  a  series  of  stimulating  and  intensely 
practical  deliverances — recitals,  exhortations,  and  dis- 
cussions. Whatever  there  may  be  of  merit  in  the 
handiwork  of  the  editor  has  been  due  to  the  conscious 
aid  throughout  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  I.  PAGB 

Genesis  of  a  Great  Movement,      ...  •        •        9 

CHAPTER   n. 
Record  of  a  Year, 17 

CHAPTER   HI. 
How  to  Learn  How  to  Learn, 28 

CHAPTER   IV. 
Dealing  with  Doubt, 35 

CHAPTER  V. 
Primitive  Orthodoxy, 45 

CHAPTER  VL 
Study  of  the  Bible, 60 

CHAPTER  Vn. 
The  Inter-Biblical  History, 67 

CHAPTER  Vin. 
Outline  of  the  Life  of  Christ, 74 

CHAPTER  IX. 
The  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews, 83 

CHAPTER  X. 

Paul's  Epistle  to  Philemon, 106 

(5) 


6  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XI.  »AOB 

Modes  of  Sanctification, iii 

CHAPTER  XH. 
Love— The  Supreme  Gift, 124 

CHAPTER  XIII. 
Divine  Choice  of  Instruments, 143 

CHAPTER  XIV. 
India  for  Christ,     ...  158 

CHAPTER  XV. 
Brief  Missionary  Addresses, 183 

CHAPTER  XVI. 
Choosing  a  Life- Work,    .        .  .       •       •  •    19^ 

CHAPTER  XVIL 
Preparation  for  Evangelism  Abroad,  ,       •  •    203 

CHAPTER  Vin. 
Consecration  and  Concentration, 214 

CHAPTER  XIX. 
A  Mighty  Work  in  Scotland, 227 

CHAPTER  XX. 
Mr.  Moody's  Question-Drawer,     ...  tyj 

CHAPTER  XXL 
An  Eminent  Calling, 261 

CHAPTER  XXII. 
Northfield  Nuggets 270 


CHAPTER  I. 

GENESIS  OF  A  GREAT  MOVEMENT. 

Dev^elopment  of  Intercollegiate  Work  among  Young  Men — Links 
of  a  Chain  Connecting  1806  with  1887 — Formation  of  the  "Amer- 
ican Board" — Dr.  John  Scudder — James  Brainerd  Taylor — The 
Intercollegiate  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  Movement — 
An  Early  Project  Realized  in  a  Later  Generation — Organization  of 
Missionary  Committees  in  the  Colleges — Years  of  Systematic 
Work — Mr.  Moody's  Hospitality — Scenes  at  Mount  Hermon. 

From  the  memorable  "  ha3'stack  prayer-meeting"  at 
WilliamiS  College  in  the  dawning  years  of  the  present 
century,  flowed  two  great  streams  of  influence.  One 
led  to  the  formation  of  a  missionary  society  whose  lus- 
trous record  through  nearly  eight  decades  is  familiar  to 
the  Christian  world.  The  other,  with  that  romantic 
indirectness  which  often  characterizes  the  unfolding  of 
God's  purposes,  is  onl}^  now  exhibiting  the  earliest  signs 
of  its  full  fruition. 

Among  the  students  at  Williams  College,  while  Napo- 
leon was  devastating  Europe,  and  the  American  Repub- 
lic was  yet  a  nursling,  stood  one  young  man  within 
whose  spirit  lurked  a  fire  of  greater  import  in  the  sight 
of  Heaven  than  the  aspirations  of  warriors  or  states- 
men. This  youth — by  name  Samuel  J.  Mills — who  re- 
flected the  teachings  of  a  pious  mother,  became  deep!}' 
impressed  v/ith  the  duty  resting  upon  American  Chris- 
tians to  convey  the  Gospel  to  the  benighted  quarters  of 
the  globe.  He  came  in  contact  with  kindred  spirits. 
The  contagion  spread  until  a  considerable  group  of 
students  formed  a  prayer-circle  whose  burden  was  the 
condition  of  the  Christless  heathen.  Their  favorite 
I*  (9) 


10  A  COLLEGE   OF   COLLEGES. 

place  of  resort  was  a  grove  not  far  from  the  college 
grounds,  where  they  were  wont  to  bear  before  the 
Throne  of  Grace  the  needs  of  their  enslaved  brethren 
beyond  sea,  and  especiall}''  to  seek  Divine  guidance  for 
themselves.  One  day,  while  so  engaged,  a  thunder- 
storm suddenly  came  up,  and  compelled  them  to  flee 
toward  the  college  buildings.  As  suddenly  the  storm 
abated,  and  they  found  themselves  near  an  old  hay- 
stack, at  which  they  collected.  Resolving  to  continue 
their  exercises,  they  knelt  behind  that  old  haystack — 
where  now  a  monument  commemorates  the  occurrence 
— and  engaged  in  prayer.  Before  leaving  the  spot  they 
decided  to  form  a  missionary  society  in  the  college,  for 
the  furtherance  of  the  cause  of  Christ  in  lands  not 
penetrated  by  the  Gospel.  At  the  earliest  opportunity 
the  organization  was  completed.  So  impressed  were 
the  members  of  this  society  with  the  importance  of  the 
object  upon  their  hearts,  that  they  determined  to  send 
deputations  to  urge  the  formation  of  similar  societies 
in  other  colleges,  particularly  in  Union  and  Yale.  One 
of  the  students  entered  Yale  College  for  the  express 
purpose  of  initiating  a  missionary  movement.  With  a 
similar  end  in  view  a  deputation  was  sent  to  Union  Col- 
lege. At  that  period,  however,  so  low  was  the  tone  oi 
spirituality  in  these  and  other  colleges,  that  the  effort 
to  form  a  network  of  missionary  societies  throughout 
the  country  was  abandoned,  and  the  members  of  the 
pioneer  society  at  Williams  turned  their  attention  en- 
tirely toward  aggressive  work  in  the  foreign  field. 

At  the  completion  of  their  course  at  Williams,  most  of 
these  youngmissionary  zealots  went  to  Andover  Theolog- 
ical Seminary.  In  course  of  time  they  began  to  ponder  the 
ways  and  means  whereby  they  could  be  sent  to  heathen 
countries  and  sustained  while  at  work.  The  immediate 
result  of  their  importunity  in  this  direction  was  the  for- 


GENESIS   OF  A   GREAT   MOVEMENT.  II 

mation  of  the  American  Board  of  Commissioners  for 
Foreign  Missions,  whose  long  and  honorable  history  is 
one  of  the  glories  of  the  Christianity  of  the  New 
World. 

One  of  this  band  of  students,  prior  to  sailing  as  a 
missionary,  wrote  a  little  pamphlet  entitled  "An  Appeal 
for  500,000,000,"  which  had  a  wide  circulation.    A  young 
physician.   Dr.  John   Scudder,  was   one   day  visiting  a 
patient,  when   a  copy  of   this   little   brochure   fell  into 
his  hands.     He  examined  it  with  interest,  and  its  peru- 
sal led  him  to  consecrate  his  life  to  the  work  of  Christ 
among  the  heathen.      In  this  manner  he  became  the 
first   medical   missionary  ever  sent  out  from   America. 
The  ship  on  which  he  embarked  for  the  long  voyage  to 
India,  sailed  from  New  York  harbor.    Am.ong  those  who 
gathered  to  witness  his  departure,  was  a  youth  of  about 
seventeen,  who  grew  intensely  interested  in  the  spectacle 
before  him.     The  sight  of  the  young  physician  and  his 
wife  calmly  bidding  farewell  to  home  and  friends,  and 
turning  their  faces  steadfastly  toward  alien  shores,  pro- 
duced   such    an    impression   upon  the    mind   of   James 
Brainerd    Taylor — for  it  was  he — that    he   determined 
likewise  to  abandon  earthly  prospects  and  devote  his 
entire  life  to  the  service  of  Christ.     Resigning  his  posi- 
tion in  a  New  York  business  house,  he  went  to  the  pre 
paratory    school    at    Lawrenceville,    and    in    due    time 
entered  Princeton  College.    At  Princeton  young  Taylor 
soon  made  himself  felt  as  one  of  the  leading  spirits  in 
every  department  of  Christian  activity.     In  1825  he  be- 
came the    founder  of    the   Philadelphian    Society — the 
religious  society  of  the  college — which  after  a  vigorous 
existence  of  more  than  fifty  years,  only  lost  its  identity 
by  assuming  another  form. 

In  1876  the  Philadelphian  Society  decided  to  become 
a  Young  Men's  Christian  Association.     Its  provident  at 


12  A  COLLEGE   OF  COLLEGES. 

the  time  was  Mr.  L.  D.  Wishard,  since  so  well  known  as 
the  secretary  of  the  Intercollegiate  Department  of  the 
work  of  the  International  Committee  of  the  Young 
Men's  Christian  Associations.  Taking  another  step,  Mr. 
Wishard  and  others  began  to  consider  the  feasibility  of 
an  intercollegiate  work — that  is  to  say,  of  a  movement 
looking  to  the  establishment  of  associations  in  colleges 
where  they  did  not  already  exist,  the  strengthening  of 
those  already  formed,  and  the  systematic  co-operation 
of  all.  The  extension  of  athletic  and  fraternal  move- 
ments upon  the  intercollegiate  basis  pointed  the  way  to 
success  in  Christian  effort  upon  a  somiCwhat  similar 
pattern.  It  will  be  observed  that  the  members  of  the 
Philadelphian  Society  were  essaying  to  do  almost  pre- 
cisely what  had  been  vainly  attempted  by  the  enterpris- 
ing students  of  Williams  College  more  than  half  a 
century  before.  There  were,  however,  two  differences  : 
one  in  the  circumstances,  and  another  in  the  purpose. 
The  earlier  effort  failed  because  the  spiritual  condition 
of  the  colleges  in  general  proved  less  favorable  than 
had  been  apprehended.  The  time  for  intercollegiate 
work  had  not  yet  come.  At  the  later  date,  on  the  con- 
trary, the  colleges  were  ripe  for  the  movement.  In  all 
the  leading  institutions  of  learning,  large  numbers  of 
earnest  and  spiritually-minded  disciples  of  Christ  could 
be  found  among  the  students.  The  original  effort, 
further,  was  solely  in  the  interest  of  foreign  missions. 
That  it  received  little  encouragement  apart  from  the 
sporadic  and  phenomenal  enthusiasm  at  Williams,  was 
no  more  surprising  than  would  be  the  experience  of  an 
architect  vv^ho  should  find  himself  unable  to  erect  the 
superstructure  of  a  building  without  laying  the  foun- 
dation. The  method  of  the  intercollegiate  work  of  the 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association  has  been  to  estab- 
lish  societies  of  the  ordinary  type   in  the  various   col- 


GENESIS   OF  A   GREAT   MOVEMENT.  1 3 

leges,  and  by  natural  development  to  kindle  an  interest 
in  the  progress  of  saving  truth  first  in  the  domestic  and 
then,  on  the  basis  of  this,  in  the  foreign  field.  The  Gospel 
was  to  be  proclaimed  first  in  Jerusalem,  then  in  Judea, 
then  in  Samaria,  and  then  unto  the  uttermost  part  of 
the  earth.  The  work  of  each  college  association  has 
been  expected  to  be,  first  local,  then  in  the  neighborhood 
then  national  or  international,  and  then  world-wide.  The 
preceding  stages  lend  stability  to  the  culmination. 

At  Louisville,  Kentucky,  in  June,  1877,  on  the  occa- 
sion of  the  thirty-third  anniversary  of  the  founding  of 
the  first  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  in  the  v^rorld, 
the  intercollegiate  work  was  organized  by  a  special  con- 
ference of  delegates  from  college  associations.  While 
the  matter  was  still  inchoate,  the  question  arose  whether 
the  new  agency  should  become  an  organization  exclu- 
sively pertaining  to  the  colleges,  or  a  department  of  the 
work  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Associations  under 
direction  of  their  International  Committee.  The  lat- 
ter was  the  form  of  organization  adopted.  At  once  it 
was  apparent  that  a  secretary  would  be  needed.  Said 
Mr.  Wishard  recently  in  conversation  with  the  writer : 
"We  hardly  knew  what  such  an  officer  should  do.  His 
chief  business,  we  supposed,  would  be  to  conduct  cor- 
respondence with  the  colleges.  We  hardly  thought  of 
any  visitation.  Being  chairman  of  the  conference, 
which  I  had  been  instrumental  in  calling,  and  being 
president  of  the  Princeton  Association,  as  I  had  been 
of  the  Philadelphian  Society,  I  was  appointed  secretary. 
I  took  the  place  simply  because  no  one  else  seemed 
willing  to  take  it.  Little  idea  had  I  of  the  work  I  was 
assuming.  If  I  had  known  what  was  before  me  I  should 
probably  never  have  accepted  the  appointment,  as  I  had 
other  work  in  view." 

Within  a  few  months  it  became  evident  that  the  col- 


14  A  COLLEGE   OF  COLLEGES. 

leges  could  not  be  properly  reached  witho  it  -visitation 
Mr.  Wishard  accordingly  began  an  extensive  tour,  in 
the  course  of  which  he  visited  more  than  three  hundred 
colleges.  Associations  were  formed  or  strengthened  in 
every  part  of  the  country.  Various  departments  of  col- 
lege association  work  developed  and  were  duly  recog- 
nized. These  are  now  six  in  number,  namely  :  (i)  Indi- 
vidual work  ;  (2)  Devotional  meetings  ;  (3)  Bible  study  ; 
(4)  Development  of  missionary  spirit ;  (5)  College  neigh- 
borhood work  ;  (6)  Maintenance  of  intercollegiate  rela- 
tions. 

In  the  autumn  of  1877  Mr.  Wishard,  at  a  meeting  in 
New  York,  heard  the  story  of  the  haystack  prayer- 
meeting  from  the  Rev.  Dr.  George  L.  Prentiss.  "We 
have  now,"  he  said  to  himself,  "  the  facilities  for  doing 
the  very  thing  those  boys  failed  to  do.  We  have  just 
what  they  lacked.  We  have  the  spiritual  power,  and 
v/e  have  the  organization."  He  resolved  at  the  earliest 
moment  to  make  an  effort  in  this  direction. 

Within  two  years  his  opportunity  came.  While  pre- 
paring for  the  International  Convention  of  the  Young 
Men's  Christian  Associations  which  was  to  meet  at 
Baltimore  in  1879,  he  wrote  a  letter  to  Dr.  Mark  Hop- 
kins, asking  him  to  send  one  of  the  best  students  of 
Williams  College  to  the  second  conference  of  the  col- 
lege associations.  Mr.  H.  P.  Perkins,  an  intending  mis- 
sionary to  China,  was  the  delegate  selected.  At  Balti' 
more  this  earnest  370ung  man  made  a  stirring  aopeal  in 
behalf  of  foreign  missions,  strenuously  recommenumg 
that  missionary  committees  be  appointed  in  all  the  col- 
leges, and  that  the  development  of  an  interest  in  foreign 
effort  be  made  a  regular  feature  of  the  college  work. 
The  organization  of  the  college  associations  was  such 
that  this  could  quite  easily  be  effected.  In  a  short  time 
missionary  committees  were  in  active  operation  in  all 


GENESIS   OF  A    GREAT   MOVEMENT.  15 

the  principal  seats  of  learning.  Thus  was  the  da}'- 
dream  of  Samuel  J.  Mills  and  his  comrades,  in  God's 
own  time,  completely  fulfilled. 

During  succeeding  years  every  phase  of  the  six-fold 
work  of  the  college  associations  was  emphasized  as 
this  blessed  work  grew  and  multiplied.  The  missionary 
and  other  committees  each  felt  the  responsibility  laid 
upon  them,  and  strove  to  do  their  utmost  toward  en- 
listing interest  in  all  branches  of  the  work.  The  Col- 
lege Secretaries  (Mr.  Wishard  having  meantime  been 
joined  by  Mr.  C.  K.  Ober)  co-operated  effectively  in  this 
development  of  the  entire  work.  At  all  the  conventions 
like  presentation  of  the  work  was  made.  Bible  study 
and  personal  work  by  students  increased.  From  time  to 
time  students  reported  that  they  had  decided  to  become 
ambassadors  for  Christ  in  heathen  lands.  In  1885  Mr. 
J.  E.  K.  Studd,  of  Cambridge  University,  England, 
visited  a  large  number  of  American  colleges.  His 
words  stimulated  Bible  study,  and  his  recital  of  the 
marvellous  narrative  in  which  his  brother  and  Mr.  Stan- 
ley Smith  are  leading  figures,  gave  a  noticeable  impulse 
to  interest  in  foreign  missions. 

It  was,  however,  in  1886  that  the  first  manifestations 
appeared  of  a  movement  v.^hich  has  surprised  and  grati- 
fied the  Christian  world.  In  the  spring  of  that  year  Mr. 
D.  L.  Moody,  while  engaged  in  evangelistic  work  in 
Georgia,  gave  a  new  evidence  of  the  interest  he  has  con- 
stantly displayed  in  the  work  of  the  Young  Men's  Chris- 
tian Association  by  proposing  a  convention  of  Association 
Secretaries  during  the  summer  in  the  buildings  of  his 
Boys'  School  at  Mount  Hermon,  Massachusetts.  Mr. 
Wishard,  with  whom  he  was  in  consultation,  thought 
the  secretaries  were  sufficiently -provided  v.'ith  means  of 
conference,  and  suggested  rather  an  assembly  of  college 
students.      Mr.    Moody   heartily   adopted    the    scheme. 


1 6  A   COLLEGE   OF   COLLEGES. 

Preparations  were  entered  upon  immediately.  Invita* 
tions  were  issued  to  227  college  associations,  and  the 
college  secretaries  visited  numerous  Eastern  colleges  to 
secure  a  large  representation.  From  the  7th  to  the  end 
of  July  the  "  College  Students' Summer  School  for  Bible 
Study"  continued.  About  240  students  were  in  attend- 
ance. Mr.  Moody  conducted  the  exercises.  During 
the  forenoon  of  each  day  an  hour  was  devoted  to  a  full 
and  thorough  consideration  of  the  various  methods  of 
College  Association  work,  and  two  hours  to  the  study 
of  the  Bible.  The  afternoon  was  given  up  to  athletic 
sports.  Questions  were  freely  asked  and  answered  at 
the  morning  sessions.  During  their  hours  of  leisure 
many  of  the  young  men  took  delight  in  strolling  away 
to  secluded  retreats,  where,  either  alone  or  in  groups, 
they  would  spend  the  time  in  communion  with  God 
and  in  prayer  for  a  larger  measure  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 
Most  signally  were  their  supplications  answered.  The 
"  power  from  on  high  "  fell  in  strange  abundance.  A 
peculiar  tenderness  of  feeling  and  hallowed  joy  pre- 
vailed during  the  closing  days.  The  most  prominent 
outward  expression  of  this  experience  was  a  spontaneous 
convergence  of  attention  upon  foreign  missions.  In- 
formal missionary  meetings  were  held.  One  meeting 
was  addressed  by  three  sons  of  missionaries  in  China, 
India,  and  Persia,  and  by  seven  young  men  of  divers 
nationalities — an  Armenian,  a  Japanese,  a  Siamese,  a 
Norwegian,  a  Dane,  a  German,  and  an  American  Indian. 
Students  who  had  as  yet  formed  no  purpose  in  life,  and 
others  who  were  obliged  to  sacrifice  definite  plans,  of- 
fered themselves  freely  to  lives  of  toil  and  suffering  in 
lands  girdling  the  earth.  The  number  of  those  who 
announced  their  perfect  readiness  to  become  foreign 
missionaries  whenever  fitted  and  required,  was  almost 
exactly  one  hundred. 


CHAPTER   II. 

RECORD    OF    A   YEAR. 

Two  Missioners  Visit  the  Colleges — An  Astonishing  Response- 
Young  People  Eager  to  Become  Foreign  Missionaries — The  Sec- 
ond Summer  School — Scenes  at  Northfield — Features  of  the  Meet- 
ings—Professor Henry  Drummond  and  his  Career — A  Remarka- 
ble Array  of  Speakers— Delegates  from  Afar — Informal  Meetings 
and  Exercises— Special  Occasions — The  Veiled  Future. 

"  Tell  others  the  story  ! "  is  the  instant  prompting 
felt  by  one  who  has  undergone  a  special  work  of  grace. 
Comparatively  few  out  of  the  whole  number  of  members 
of  the  College  Young  Men's  Christian  Associations  were 
privileged  to  attend  the  Summer  School  at  Mount  Her- 
mon.  It  was  felt  by  those  who  had  been  preferred  that 
something  ought  to  be  done  to  convey  to  their  less  for- 
tunate brethren  the  fullest  possible  radiation  of  the 
blessing  received.  To  this  end  a  deputation  of  four  stu- 
dents was  selected  to  represent  the  Mount  Hermon 
gathering,  and  to  visit,  so  far  as  might  be,  all  the  col- 
leges of  this  country  and  Canada,  addressing  the  stu- 
dents therein.  Of  these  four,  however,  only  one  was 
able  to  undertake  the  mission — Mr.  Robert  P.  Wilder, 
son  of  a  missionary,  and  a  student  at  Princeton  College. 
He  was  joined  by  Mr.  John  N.  Forman,  also  a  Princeton 
student  and  son  of  a  missionary,  who  had  not  been  at 
Mount  Hermon,  but  who  carried  missionary  fervor  in 
his  veins.  The  expenses  of  their  tour  were  defrayed  by 
one  gentleman. 

From  college  to  college  they  have  gone,  presenting 

(17) 


l8  A  COLLEGE  OF  COLLEGES. 

the  claims  of  the  shadowed  world,  and  the  duty  of  the 
rising  generation  in  relation  thereto,  with  a  force,  a 
pungency,  and  an  eloquence,  which  have  indicated  the 
presence  with  them  of  the  Spirit  of  God.  Some  of  the 
best  and  brightest  of  the  young  men  of  the  land  have 
responded  to  the  appeal,  in  such  numbers  that  it  has 
been  difficult  to  say  at  any  hour  what  was  the  total 
figure.  In  the  spring  of  1887,  President  McCosh,  of 
Princeton  College,  wrote  an  open  letter,  setting  before 
the  Christians  of  America  their  duty  in  view  of  the  fact 
that  1,500  young  men  and  women  had  volunteered  to 
enter  the  ranks  of  the  missionary  service.  Dr.  McCosh 
asks  :  "  Has  any  such  offering  of  living  young  men  and 
women  been  presented  in  our  age  ?  in  our  country }  in 
any  age  or  in  any  country  since  the  day  of  Pentecost  ? " 
At  the  present  writing  (July,  1887),  no  fewer  than  2,100 
college  students — 1,600  young  men  and  500  young  wom- 
en— stand  pledged  to  become  heralds  of  the  Cross  in 
any  clime  beneath  the  sun. 

The  second  "  College  Students'  Summer  School  "  was 
held  at  Northfield,  Massachusetts,  in  the  midsummer 
of  1887 — from  June  30th  to  July  12th,  inclusive.  Mr. 
Moody  deemed  it  best  to  throw  open  for  the  occa- 
sion the  Seminary  buildings  at  Northfield  instead  of 
those  at  Mount  Hermon,  on  account  of  the  greatei 
capacity  of  the  former.  Not  only  college  students 
were  invited,  but  Association  secretaries  and  others 
engaged  in  special  religious  endeavor.  The  number 
of  persons  in  attendance  was  about  450.  To  accom- 
modate this  concourse  of  young  men  the  resources  of 
Marquand  Hall,  Stone  Hall,  and  East  Hall  w^ere  taxed 
to  the  utmost.  Many  of  the  students  provided  for  them- 
selves in  tents,  and  others  occupied  the  smaller  dormi- 
tories connected  with  the  institution.  The  dining-room 
of  Marquand  Hall  and  East  Hall  assumed  the  aspect  of 


RECORD   OF  A  YEAR.  1 9 

city  hotels.  One  of  the  pleasantest  features  of  this  sec- 
ond Summer  School  was  the  testimonies  it  brought 
together  to  the  benefits  conferred  by  its  predecessor. 
While  the  missionary  interest  had  been  the  most  con- 
spicuous result,  it  was  discovered  that  to  many  colleges 
their  delegates  to  Mount  Hermon  had  returned  to  take 
such  active  part  in  Christian  work  that  interest  in  Bible 
study  had  greatly  increased,  students  had  been  con- 
verted. Christians  reclaimed  and  quickened,  and  the 
colleges  had  thus  enjoyed  a  better  Christian  year  than 
they  had  ever  known. 

Mr.  Moody  presided  at  all  the  public  meetings.  The 
scene  of  these  was  the  auditorium  of  Stone  Hall,  and 
they  were  held  in  the  forenoon  and  evening  of  each 
day.  Fifteen  minutes  before  the  hour  of  opening  Pro- 
fessor Towner  conducted  a  service  of  song.  At  10 
in  the  morning,  or  at  8  in  the  evening,  Mr.  Mocdy 
began  promptly  by  announcing  a  familiar  hymn.  Vari- 
ous exercises  followed,  including  audible  and  silent 
prayer,  frequent  hymn-singing,  and  perhaps  a  solo  by 
Mr.  Sankey — or,  if  he  were  not  present,  a  duet  by  Pro- 
fessor and  Mrs.  Towner.  Before  introducing  the  first 
speaker,  Mr.  Moody  vv^ould  drill  the  students  in  the  con 
tents  of  some  one  chapter  of  the  Gospel  of  John,  asking 
them  to  mention,  without  looking  at  their  Bibles,  the 
salient  points  of  the  chapter,  their  favorite  verses,  and 
the  verses  likely  to  be  of  service  in  dealing  with  in- 
quirers. Many  characteristic  comments  fell  from  his 
lips  while  thus  reviewing  the  sacred  text.  After  an- 
other hymn  he  would  introduce  one  of  the  leading  speak- 
ers, whose  discourse  would  continue  nearly  if  not  quite 
an  hour.  The  people  then  rose  and  sang  some  appro- 
priate hymn.  The  second  speaker  would  likewise  oc- 
cupy nearly  an  hour.  Seldom  was  there  time  for  more 
than   two   speakers   at   one   session.     Sometimes   there 


20  A   COLIEGE    OF   COLLEGES. 

would  be  three  brief  addresses;  sometimes  one  short  and 
one  long  one.  At  no  time  did  the  interest  flag.  The 
audience,  composed  of  trained  minds,  was  attentive  to  a 
degree  which  could  not  have  been  expected  of  an  ordi- 
nary assemblage.  Mr.  Moody's  frequent  exclamations, 
"Hear,  hear!"  "Good!"  etc.,  accentuated  the  best 
points  of  the  principal  lectures.  His  brusque  and 
humorous  style  of  handling  the  reins  from  beginning  to 
end  infused  an  air  of  informality  into  the  whole  round 
of  proceedings,  which  greatly  promoted  the  pleasure  of 
all.  The  distinguished  evangelist  spoke  but  rarely  him- 
self. Whenever  he  was  expected  to  preach  or  speak  at 
length,  the  villagers  and  country  folk  of  the  vicinage 
would  flock  to  the  place  and  swell  the  congregation. 

Professor  Henry  Drummond,  of  Scotland,  was  the 
most  notable  figure  among  the  many  eminent  speakers 
by  whom  Mr.  Moody  was  surrounded.  He  was  born  in 
1852,  at  Stirling,  where  his  father,  a  retired  grain  mer- 
chant, still  resides.  The  late  Peter  Drummond,  founder 
of  the  celebrated  Drummond  tracts,  was  his  uncle.  He 
was  educated  at  Edinburgh  University,  and  at  Tubingen 
University,  in  Germany.  In  1877  he  became  Professor 
of  Natural  Science  in  the  Free  Church  College  in  Glas- 
)^ow.  Several  years  ago,  in  company  with  Professor 
Geikie,  he  visited  America,  and  made  a  geological  ex- 
pedition to  the  Rocky  Mountains  and  the  Yellowstone 
region.  Subsequently  he  explored  Central  Africa  in 
pursuit  of  unknown  animals  and  insects.  The  manner 
in  which  he  attained  success  as  an  author  resembles  a 
fairy  tale.  During  the  earlier  years  of  his  professorship 
at  Glasgow  he  contributed  a  few  articles  to  The  Clerical 
World,  one  of  the  publications  of  Hoddei  &  Stoughton, 
London.  Such  was  the  attention  attracted  by  these 
essays  that  Mr.  Hodder  proposed  the  preparation  of  a 
book  concerning  the  mooted  themes.     Professor  Drum- 


RECORD   OF  A  YEAR.  21 

mond  happened  to  have  at  hand  a  number  of  papers  of 
the  description  desired.  Hurriedly  grouping  this  ma- 
terial in  the  form  of  a  book,  which  he  christened  "  Natu- 
ral Law  in  the  Spiritual  World,"  he  handed  the  manu- 
script to  the  publishers,  and  sailed  for  Africa.  For 
about  a  year  he  was  engrossed  in  his  scientific  quest  in 
the  heart  of  the  Dark  Continent.  Returning  to  England 
he  was  astonished  to  find  that  meantime  he  had  been 
placed  upon  a  pinnacle  of  fame  of  which  he  had  never 
dreamed.  His  treatise  has  had  an  enormous  sale  in 
every  part  of  the  civilized  world.  Long,  however,  be- 
fore he  had  reached  his  present  repute  as  a  Christian 
scientist  and  philosopher.  Professor  Drummond  was 
widely  known  for  his  enlightened  zeal  and  personal 
activity  in  benevolent  work.  He  was  indefatigable  in 
connection  with  the  evangelistic  campaigns  of  Messrs. 
Moody  and  Sankey  in  Edinburgh,  Glasgow,  and  other 
parts  of  Scotland,  as  well  as  in  England.  For  several 
years  he  has  been  instrumental  in  guiding  and  promot- 
ing a  profound  religious  awakening  in  the  Universities 
of  Edinburgh  and  Glasgow,  which,  in  conjunction  with 
the  similar  movement  at  Cambridge,  has  changed  the 
atmosphere  of  college  life  at  those  great  intellectual 
centres.  During  his  stay  in  Northfield,  Professor  Drum- 
mond was  the  hero  of  a  host  of  admiring  students. 
His  simple  manliness  won  all  hearts,  and  the  tenets 
peculiar  to  his  philosophy  fascinated  the  strongest 
minds.  Summoned  away  from  Northfield  very  sud- 
denl}^,  he  was  obliged  to  leave  one  of  the  closing  meet- 
ings the  moment  he  had  finished  his  remarks.  The 
students,  not  knowing  the  reason  of  his  departure,  and 
only  realizing  that  they  should  see  his  face  no  more, 
rose  and  cheered  him  vehemently  as  he  took  his  leave. 

The  other  speakers  who  delivered   stated  addresses 
were  the  following:  The  Rev.  John  A.  Broadus,  D.D., 


22  A   COLLEGE   OF   COLLEGES. 

LL.D.,  Professor  in  the  Baptist  Theological  Seminary 
at  Louisville,  Kentucky;  author  of  a  standard  text-book 
on  Homiletics,  a  commentary  on  Matthew,  etc.  His 
courtly  manners  and  ripe  scholarship,  his  earnestness 
and  genuine  humor,  made  him  a  prime  favorite  with 
the  students. — The  Rev.  Arthur  T.  Pierson,  D.D.,  pastor 
of  the  Bethany  Presbyterian  Church,  Philadelphia ; 
author  of  "  Many  Infallible  Proofs,"  "  The  Crisis  of 
Missions,"  etc. — Professor  L.  T.  Townsend,  of  Boston 
University. — ^Joseph  Cook. — Dr.  L.  W.  Munhall. — Mr 
H.  L.  Hastings,  of  Boston. — The  Rev.  Jacob  Cham- 
berlain, of  the  Arcot  Mission,  Madanapalle,  India, 
whose  fervid  appeals  were  enhanced  in  power  by  the 
general  consciousness  of  his  own  prolonged  and  heroic 
career  among  the  Telugus. 

Among  those  who  spoke  briefly  at  various  times,  were: 
Mr.  L.  D.  Wishard  and  Mr.  C.  K.  Ober,  the  College  Sec- 
retaries ;  Dr.  Henry  Clay  Trumbull,  of  Philadelphia; 
the  Rev.  Dr.  Ashmore,  of  Swatow,  China ;  Mr.  Wm.  M. 
Oatts,  General  Secretary  of  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  of  Glasgow, 
Scotland  ;  Mr.  D.  W.  McWilliams,  of  Brooklyn  ;  Mr.  M. 
H.  Hodder,  of  London,  England  ;  Mr.  John  N.  Forman 
and  Mr.  Robert  P.  Wilder,  the  missionary  recruiting 
officers  ;  as  well  as  a  number  of  clergymen  and  students. 

Among  the  delegates  were  representatives  of  many 
foreign  countries.  Two  students  appeared  in  behalf  of 
Cambridge  University,  England.  Canada  sent  a  com- 
pany of  about  fifteen.  Two  clergymen  were  present 
from  Jamaica,  West  Indies.  Natives  of  Syria,  Alaska, 
Japan,  China,  and  Siam,  illustrated  the  brotherhood  of 
man  \s  they  mingled  in'  Christian  fellowship  with  the 
paler  Caucasians.  The  American  delegates  came  from 
New  England  hillsides,  Western  prairies,  and  Southern 
savannas. 

In  addition  to  the  public  meetings  at  Stone   Hall 


RECORD   OF  A   YEAR.  23 

innumerable  smaller  meetings  were  held  for  special  pur- 
poses. Every  morning  at  8:30  a  meeting  was  held  in 
Senior  Glen,  or  at  Stone  Hall,  conducted  by  Messrs. 
Wishard  and  Ober,  for.  the  discussion  of  methods  of 
Y.  M.  C.  A.  work.  Views  were  exchanged,  questions 
asked  and  answered,  and  many  valuable  hints  elicited. 
The  principal  speakers  were  Mr.  Richard  C.  Morse,  Mr. 
R.  R.  McBurney,  and  Mr.  Geo.  A.  Hall,  of  New  York;  Mr. 
J.  T.  Bowne,  Principal  of  the  Springfield  School  for 
Christian  Workers ;  Mr.  Wm.  M,  Oatts,  of  Glasgow  ; 
Mr.  Edwin  F.  See,  of  Brooklyn;  Mr.  F.  W.  Ober,  of 
Albany ;  and  Mr.  Samuel  McConaughy,  of  Philadelphia. 
On  Round  Hill,  behind  Mr.  Moody's  house,  a  meeting 
was  held  each  evening  of  college  and  other  Y.  M.  C.  A. 
delegates,  which  was  largely  devotional  in  character. 
Every  evening  a  missionary  meeting  was  held  in  Senior 
Glen,  in  which  statements  were  made  and  questions 
asked  and  answered  upon  practical  points  relating  to 
foreign  work.  Here  Dr.  Chamberlain,  of  India,  Dr.  Ash- 
more,  of  China,  and  Dr.  Dowkontt,  of  the  New  York 
Medical  Mission,  found  opportunity  to  counsel  young 
men  thinking  of  going  abroad.  One  afternoon  a  meet- 
ing was  held  in  the  chapel  of  Marquand  Hall  for  ladies 
exclusively,  which  was  conducted  by  Mrs.  Oatts,  a  daugh- 
ter of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Andrew  Bonar,  of  Glasgow,  Scot- 
land. At  6  o'clock  in  the  morning  Mr.  Moody  met  a 
group  of  early  risers  in  Senior  Glen,  and  gave  them 
hints  on  Bible  study,  methods  of  work,  questions  of 
conscience,  etc.  Professor  Drummond  at  a  later  hour 
answered  the  queries  of  a  band  of  eager  disciples.  Dr. 
Pierson  likewise  gave  instruction  to  amateurs  in  the 
investigation  of  the  sacred  Scriptures.  The  Yale  stu- 
dents held  a  special  prayer-meeting  every  night  for  per- 
sonal consecration,  and  to  crave  power  for  service  so 
that  through  them  their  college  might  be  blessed.     Sim- 


24  A   COLLEGE   OF  COLLEGES. 

ilar  meetings  were  held  by  the  students  of  Princeton, 
Cornell,  Amherst,  Williams,  and  other  colleges.  At  a 
union  meeting  of  about  fifty  students  from  a  large 
number  of  colleges,  the  presence  of  the  Holy  Spirit  was 
distinctly  felt. 

On  the  ist  of  July,  at  5  p.m.,  the  Canadian  delegates 
assembled  in  Senior  Glen  to  celebrate  Dominion  Day — 
the  anniversary  of  the  completion  of  the  Canadian  Con- 
federation, and  as  it  happened,  the  twentieth.  Repre- 
sentatives of  many  parts  of  the  British  Empire  attended. 
Prayer  was  offered  for  the  temporal  and  spiritual  pros- 
perity both  of  the  British  Possessions  and  of  the  United 
States.  On  the  4th  of  July  the  afternoon  was  made  a 
"field-day,"  and  a  large  collection  of  spectators  beheld 
sundry  gymnastic  and  amusing  contests  on  the  green  in 
front  of  Marquand  Ilall.  At  the  meeting  that  evening, 
after  Dr.  Broadus  had  led  in  a  patriotic  prayer,  JMr. 
Moody  remarked  that  he  could  remember  a  time  when 
he  would  never  have  expected  to  see  a  chaplain  in  Gen- 
eral Lee's  army  praying  in  Massachusetts  for  the  welfare 
of  the  Union.  Later  in  the  evening  the  entire  body  of 
students  serenaded  the  Scottish  guests  at  Mr,  Moody's 
house,  forming  a  semicircle  and  heartily  singing 
college  songs.  Professor  Drummond,  in  his  words  of 
response,  said  that  while  he  had  been  accustomed  to 
regard  the  students  of  the  universities  in  Scotland  as  the 
finest  representatives  of  young  manhood  in  the  world,  he 
would  in  future  be  obliged  to  admit  that  a  similar  show- 
ing could  be  found  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic.  Mrs. 
Oatts  sang,  "My  Ain  Countrie,"  and  Mr.  Moody  made  a 
few  pleasant  remarks.  On  the  first  Sunday  of  the  con- 
vention Mr.  Moody  held  an  afternoon  meeting  near  the 
river  bank,  directly  in  front  of  his  house,  and  preached 
a  powerful  discourse  on  the  requisites  for  successful 
Christian   work — faith,  courage,  enthusiasm,  persever- 


HETCORD   OF  A  YEAR.  2$ 

auce,  love,  and  sympathy.  The  multitude  sitting  or 
reciining  upon  the  grass,  with  wagon-loads  of  listeners  at 
the  edges  ;  the  rural  surroundings,  combined  with  the 
1  iver  vista  ;  the  earnest  evangelist  from  a  slight  eleva- 
tion dropping  words  that  burned  and  thrilled — these 
things  taken  as  a  whole  formed  a  picture  not  soon  to  be 
forgotten.  Another  special  proceeding  occurred  on  the 
last  day  of  the  conference.  At  4  p.m.  the  delegates  in 
large  numbers  met  at  Mr.  Moody's  house  and,  led  by 
him,  began  the  ascent  of  Strobridge  Hill.  Passing  the 
old  Moody  homestead  on  the  way,  the  procession  stopped 
and  sang  several  hymns  by  way  of  serenade  to  Mrs. 
Betsy  Moody,  the  evangelist's  mother.  The  Rev.  Dr. 
Humphrey,  of  Chicago,  offered  a  touching  prayer.  Then 
said  Mr.  Moody,  pointing  :  "  There  is  the  room  where  I 
was  born.  My  mother  is  living  here  yet.  I  am  glad  she 
is  with  us  to-day,  and  I  pray  that  she  may  be  spared  for 
many  years.  Among  the  best  blessings  God  gives  any 
man  are  a  good  mother  and  a  good  wife.  Now,  young 
men,  three  cheers  for  my  mother."  These  were  given 
with  a  will.  The  old  lady,  who  was  obliged  to  remain 
indoors,  was  much  affected  as  well  as  pleased  by  the 
incident.  After  a  toilsome  climb,  during  which  a  view 
reminding  one  of  the  Catskills  was  presented,  the  sum- 
mit of  the  mountain  was  reached.  Resting  in  a  breezy 
spot,  the  company  listened  to  the  reading  of  the  Sermon 
on  the  Mount.  Mr.  Moody  read  a  portion  of  the  sermon 
including  the  Beatitudes,  commenting  freely  as  he  pro- 
gressed ;  after  which  he  was  relieved  by  Mr.  Richard  C. 
Morse,  of  New  York,  who  read  the  remainder.  Silent 
and  vocal  prayer  ensued  for  a  brief  interval.  The  easy 
descent  was  quickly  made. 

Every  afternoon  as  many  of  the  students  as  chose 
engaged  in  athletic  sports  and  exercises  of  various  kinds, 
including  base-ball,  lawn-tennis,  rambling,  boating,  and 


26  A  COLLEGE  OF  COLLEGES. 

swimming.  Very  gratifying  to  a  thoughtful  observer 
was  their  thoroughly  natural  demeanor.  Whoever 
imagined  that  religion  was  synonymous  with  melan- 
choly, or  that  the  ebullient  animal  spirits  of  youth  were 
inconsistent  with  the  most  intense  Christian  zeal,  would 
have  had  his  erroneous  ideas  speedily  rectified  had  he 
seen  the  cheerful,  even  jovial  temperament,  the  abound- 
ing energy  and  the  keen  relish  for  innocent  pastimes,  of 
the  delegates  in  their  hours  of  leisure.  Mr.  Moody  said 
at  one  of  the  meetings  :  "  While  I  was  out  driving  yes- 
terday I  saw  a  number  of  young  men  pla34ng  lawn- 
tennis,  and  to  see  them  play  you  would  think  their  lives 
depended  on  it.  A  little  farther  I  saw  some  j'-oung  men 
engaged  at  base-ball,  and  they,  too,  were  playing  as  if 
their  lives  depended  on  it.  I  liked  that.  'Whatsoever 
thy  hand  findeth  to  do,  do  it  with  thy  might.' "  Who 
shall  tell  whether  the  vitality  thus  conserved  and 
developed  is  not  to  be  laid  up  against  cruel  tests  in 
unfriendly  climates  ?  Even  the  fondness  for  manly 
sports  may  have  a  determined  value  in  the  counsels  of 
Providence.  It  was  by  his  skill  in  boating  and  swim- 
ming, acquired  in  college  days,  that  Bishop  Selwyn  on 
more  than  one  occasion  saved  his  life  when  in  jeopardy 
among  the  isles  of  Polynesia. 

These  four  hundred  students,  from  eighty-two  colleges, 
separated  from  one  another  stronger  in  body,  soul,  and 
spirit  than  when  they  came  together  two  short  weeks 
before.  A  deep  spirit  of  consecration  had  pervaded  the 
meetings  for  prayer  daily  held  by  small  groups  from  the 
different  colleges.  The  two  largest  of  these  groups  con- 
sisted, the  one  of  thirty,  the  other  of  thirty-one  students. 
More  than  a  third  of  each  of  these  were  led  to  devote 
their  lives  to  Christian  work  in  the  paths  indicated  by 
the  Spirit  of  God.  Many  will  be  led  into  the  ministry 
at  home  or  abroad.     Some  will  become  secretaries  of 


RECORD   OF  A  YEAR.  27 

Young  Men's  Christian  Associations  in  our  own  country 
or  in  heathen  lands,  whence  urgent  calls  are  coming  for 
this  form  of  work  among  young  men. 

Precisely  in  what  manner  the  hundreds  of  students 
who  during  the  past  year  have  offered  themselves,  will 
be  sent  to  foreign  fields,  is  a  weighty  question.  They 
are  recommended  to  place  themselves  under  the  care 
of  the  boards  of  their  respective  denominations.  It  is 
earnestly  hoped  and  believed  that  the  sight  of  so  sur- 
prising a  reinforcement  of  the  missionary  ranks,  and 
the  reflex  influence  of  the  greatly  extended  operations 
reported,  will  swell  the  coffers  of  the  regular  boards,  and 
enable  them  to  keep  pace  with  their  opportunities.  A 
considerable  proportion  of  the  fresh  forces  will  be  re- 
quired to  man  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Associations 
which  it  is  hoped  can  be  successfully  established  in  the 
influential  cities  of  heathendom.  The  demand  for  Euro- 
pean or  American  teachers  in  the  Government  schools  in 
Japan  and  India  will  afford  scope  for  hundreds  of  tal- 
ented young  people,  who  will  be  able  to  leaven  those 
schools  with  Christian  truth.  It  is  also  to  be  remem- 
bered that  many  of  the  students  who  anticipate  becom- 
ing foreign  missionaries  are  still  freshmen,  sophomores, 
or  juniors  at  college. 

But  the  surest  and  most  immediate  result  of  this  blessed 
Summer  School  may  be  looked  for  in  the  Christian 
activity  of  these  energized  students  as  they  return  to 
their  colleges  and  resume  the  six-fold  work,  in  every 
department  of  which  they  have  become  more  skilled  and 
earnest.  The  burden  of  every  meeting  and  every  prayer 
was  that  blessing  from  God  might  come  upon  the  stu- 
dents in  every  college  through  faithful  confession  of 
Christ  in  word  and  life  by  those  who  were  called  by  His 
name.  Such  confession  and  blessing  will  make  the  next 
college  year  more  Pentecostal  than  any  which  has  pre- 
':eded  it. 


CHAPTER  III. 

HOW  TO  LEARN  HOW  TO  LEARN. 

Address  by  Prof.  Henry  Drummond,  of  Scotland — The  Instrument 
with  which  we  Apprehend  Truth — Is  it  in  Perfect  Working  Order? 
— Employment  for  Body,  Mind,  and  Soul — Relation  of  Obedience 
to  Knowledge — Danger  of  Deception — The  Crucial  Test  of  Value. 

Before  the  more  serious  work  of  this  conference  be- 
gins, I  venture  to  say  a  few  words  about  "  How  to  Learn 
How  to  Learn  " — preparation  for  learning.  Before  an 
artist  can  do  anything  the  instrument  must  be  tuned. 
Our  astronomers  at  this  moment  are  preparing  for  an 
event  which  happens  only  once  or  twice  in  a  lifetime  : 
the  total  eclipse  of  the  sun  in  the  month  of  August. 
They  have  begun  already.  They  are  making  prepara- 
tions. At  chosen  stations  in  different  parts  of  the  world 
they  are  spending  all  the  skill  that  science  can  suggest 
upon  the  construction  of  their  instruments;  and  up  to 
the  last  moment  they  will  be  busy  adjusting  them;  and 
the  last  day  will  be  the  busiest  of  all,  because  then  they 
have  to  have  the  glasses  and  the  mirrors  polished  to  the 
last  degree.  They  have  to  have  the  lenses  in  place  and 
focusscd  upon  this  spot  before  the  event  itself  takes 
place. 

Now,  3^ou  are  preparing  to-night  for  an  event  which 
happens  once  or  twice  in  a  lifetime,  and  everything  will 
depend  upon  the  instruments  which  you  bring  to  I  his 
experiment.  Everything  will  depend  upon  it  ;  and 
therefore  to-night  fifteen  minutes  will  not  be  lost  if  we 
each  put  our  instrument  into  the  best  working  order  we 
can.  I  have  spoken  of  lenses,  and  that  reminds  me  that 
(aS) 


HOW  TO  LEARN  HOW  TO  LEARN.      ^  29 

the  instrument  which  we  bring  to  bear  upon  truth  is  a 
compound  thing.  It  consists  of  many  parts.  Truth  is 
not  a  product  of  the  intellect  alone  ;  it  is  a  product  of 
the  whole  nature.  The  body  is  engaged  in  it,  and  the 
mind,  and  the  soul. 

The  body  is  engaged  in  it.  Of  course,  a  man  who 
has  his  body  run  down,  or  who  is  dyspeptic,  or  melan- 
choly, sees  everything  black,  and  distorted,  and  untrue. 
But  I  am  not  going  to  dwell  upon  that.  Most  of  you 
seem  in  pretty  fair  working  order  so  far  as  your  bodies 
are  concerned  ;  only  it  is  well  to  remember  that  we  are 
to  give  our  bodies  a  living  sacrifice — not  a  half-dead 
sacrifice,  as  some  people  seem  to  imagine.  There  is  no 
virtue  in  emaciation.  I  don't  know  if  you  have  any 
tendency  in  that  direction  in  America,  but  certainly  we 
are  in  danger  of  dropping  into  it  now  and  then  in  Eng- 
land, and  it  is  just  as  well  to  bear  in  mind  our  part  of 
the  lens — a  very  compound  and  delicate  lens — with 
which  we  have  to  take  in  truth. 

Then  comes  a  very  important  part :  the  intellect — 
which  is  one  of  the  most  useful  servants  of  truth  ;  and 
I  need  not  tell  you  as  students,  that  the  intellect  will 
have  a  great  deal  to  do  with  your  reception  of  truth  at 
this  conference.  I  was  told,  sir  [turning  to  Mr.  Moody], 
that  it  was  said  at  these  conferences  last  year,  that  a 
man  must  crucify  his  intellect.  I  venture  to  contradict 
the  gentleman  who  made  that  statement.  I  am  quite 
sure  no  such  statement  could  ever  have  been  made  in 
your  hearing — that  we  were  to  crucify  our  intellects. 
We  can  make  no  progress  without  the  full  use  of  all  the 
intellectual  powers  that  God  has  endowed  us  with. 

But  more  important  than  either  of  these  is  the  moral 
nature — the  moral  and  spiritual  nature.  Some  of  you 
remember  a  sermon  of  Robertson  of  Brighton,  entitled 
"Obedience  the   Organ   of   Spiritual  Knowledge."    A 


30  A  COLLEGE   OF  COLLEGES. 

very  startling  title  ! — "  Obedience  the  Organ  of  Spiritual 
Knowledge."  The  Pharisees  asked  about  Christ:  "How 
knoweth  this  man  letters,  never  having  learned  ?"  How 
knoweth  this  man,  never  having  learned  ?  The  orgari 
of  knowledge  is  not  nearly  so  much  mind,  as  the  organ 
that  Christ  used,  namely,  obedience  ;  and  that  was  the 
organ  which  He  Himself  insisted  upon  when  He  said  . 
"He  that  willeth  to  do  His  will  shall  know  of  the 
doctrine  whether  it  be  of  God."  You  have  all  noticed, 
of  course,  that  the  words  there  in  the  original  are  :  "  If 
any  man  will  to  do  His  will,  he  shall  know  of  the 
doctrine."  It  doesn't  read,  "  If  any  man  do  His  will," 
which  no  man  can  do  perfectly  ;  but  if  any  man  be 
simply  willing  to  do  His  will — if  he  has  an  absolutely 
undivided  mind  about  it — that  man  will  know  what 
truth  is  and  know  what  falsehood  is  ;  a  stranger  will  he 
not  follow.  And  that  is  by  far  the  best  source  of  spirit- 
ual knowledge  on  every  account— obedience  to  God — 
absolute  sincerity  and  loyalty  in  following  Christ.  "  If 
any  man  do  His  will  he  shall  know  " — a  very  remarkable 
association  of  knowledge,  a  thing  which  is  usually  con- 
sidered quite  intellectual,  with  obedience,  which  is  moral 
and  spiritual. 

But  even  although  we  use  all  these  three  different 
parts  of  the  instrument,  we  have  not  at  all  yet  got  at  the 
complete  method  of  learning.  There  is  a  little  prelim- 
inary that  the  astronomer  has  to  do  before  he  can  make 
his  observation.  He  has  to  take  the  cap  off  his  tele- 
scope. Many  a  man  thinks  he  is  looking  at  truth 
when  he  is  only  looking  at  the  cap.  Many  a  time  I  have 
looked  down  my  microscope  and  thought  I  was  looking 
at  the  diatom  for  which  I  had  long  been  searching,  and 
found  I  had  simply  been  looking  at  a  speck  of  dust  upon 
the  lens  itself.  Many  a  man  thinks  he  is  looking  at 
truth  when  he  is  onlv  looking  at  the  spectacles  he  has 


HOW  TO  LEARN  HOW  TO  LEARN.        y-. 

pu»  on  to  see  it  with.  He  is  looking  at  his  own  spec- 
tacles. Now,  the  common  spectacles  that  a  man  puts 
on — I  suppose  the  creed  in  which  he  has  been  brought 
up — if  a  man  looks  at  that,  let  him  remember  that  he  is 
not  looking  at  truth  :  he  is  looking  at  his  own  spectacles. 
There  is  no  more  important  lesson  that  we  have  to  carry 
with  us  through  this  conference  than  that  truth  is  not 
to  be  found  in  what  I  have  been  taught.  That  is  not 
truth.  Truth  is  not  what  I  have  been  taught.  If  it 
were  sr»,  that  would  apply  to  the  Mormon,  it  would  ap- 
ply to  the  Brahmin,  it  would  apply  to  the  Buddhist. 
Truth  would  be  to  everybody  just  what  he  had  been 
taught.  Therefore  let  us  dismiss  from  our  minds  the 
predisposition  to  regard  that  which  we  have  been 
brought  up  in  as  being  necessarily  the  truth.  I  must 
say  it  is  very  hard  to  shake  oneself  free  altogetlier  from 
that.  I  suppose  it  is  impossible.  But  you  quite  see  the 
reasonableness  of  giving  up  that  as  your  view  of  truth 
when  you  come  to  apply  it  all  around.  If  that  were  the 
definition  of  truth,  truth  would  be  just  what  one's 
parents  were — it  would  be  a  thing  of  hereditary  trans 
mission,  and  not  a  thing  absolute  in  itself.  Now,  let  me 
venture  to  ask  you  to  take  that  cap  off.  Take  that  cap 
off  now,  and  make  up  your  minds  you  are  going  to  look 
at  truth  naked — in  its  reality  as  it  is,  not  as  it  is  reflected 
through  other  minds,  or  through  any  theology,  however 
venerable.  Here,  as  we  meet  as  a  formative  school  of 
theology  for  a  week  or  a  fortnight,  we  must  look  at 
things  for  ourselves. 

Then,  there  is  one  other  thing  I  think  we  must  be 
careful  about,  and  that  is  besides  having  the  cap  off, 
and  having  all  the  lenses  clean  and  in  position — to  have 
the  instrument  rightly  focussed.  Everything  may  be 
riglit,  and  yet  when  you  go  and  look  at  the  object,  you 
see  things  altogether  falsely.     Yo    see  things  not  only 


32  A   COLLEGE   OF  COLLEGES. 

blurred,  but  you  see  things  out  of  proportion.  And 
there  is  nothing  more  important  we  have  to  bear  in 
mind  in  running  our  eye  over  successive  theological 
truths,  or  religious  truths,  than  that  there  is  a  propor- 
tion in  those  truths,  and  that  we  must  see  them  :n  their 
proportion,  or  we  see  them  falsely.  A  man  may  take  a 
dollar  or  a  half-dollar  and  hold  it  to  his  eye  so  closely 
that  he  will  hide  the  sun  from  him.  Or  he  may  so  focus 
his  telescope  that  a  fly  or  a  boulder  may  be  as  large  as 
a  mountain.  A  man  may  come  to  this  conference  with 
a  certain  doctrine,  held  very  intensely — a  doctrine  which 
has  been  looming  upon  his  horizon  for  the  last  six 
months,  let  us  say,  and  which  has  thrown  everything 
else  out  of  proportion,  it  has  become  so  big  itself.  Now, 
let  us  beware  of  distortion  in  the  arrangement  of  the 
religious  truths  which  w^e  hold.  It  is  almost  impossible 
to  get  things  in  their  true  proportion  and  symmetry,  but 
this  is  the  thing  we  must  be  constantly  aiming  at.  We 
are  told  in  the  Bible  to  "  add  to  your  faith  virtue,  and 
to  virtue  knowledge,  and  to  knowledge  balance,"  as  the 
word  literally  means — balance.  It  is  a  word  taken  from 
the  orchestra,  where  all  the  parts — the  sopranos,  the 
basses,  the  altos,  and  the  tenors,  and  all  the  rest  of  them 
— must  be  regulated.  If  you  have  too  much  of  the  bass, 
or  too  much  of  the  soprano,  there  is  want  of  harmony. 
That  is  what  I  mean  by  the  want  of  proper  focus — by 
the  want  of  proper  balance— in  the  truths  which  we  all 
hold.  It  will  never  do  to  exaggerate  one  truth  at  the  ex- 
pense of  another,  and  a  truth  may  be  turned  into  a  false 
hood  very,  very  easily,  by  simply  being  either  too  much 
enlarged  or  too  much  diminished.  I  once  heard  of  some 
blind  men  who  were  taken  to  see  a  menagerie.  They 
had  gone  around  the  animals,  and  four  of  them  were 
allowed  to  touch  an  elephant  as  they  went  past.  They 
were  discussing  afterward  what  kind  of  a  creature  the 


HOW  TO  LEARN  HOW  TO  LEARN.        33 

elepViant  was.  One  man,  who  had  touched  its  tail,  said 
the  elephant  was  like  a  rope.  Another  of  the  blind 
men,  who  had  touched  its  hind  limb,  said,  "  No  such 
thing  !  the  elephant  is  like  the  trunk  of  a  tree."  An- 
other, who  had  felt  its  sides,  said,  "That  is  all  rubbish. 
An  elephant  is  a  thing  like  a  wall."  And  the  fourth, 
who  ha5  ;,?lt  its  ear,  said  that  an  elephant  was  like  none 
of  those  things;  it  was  like  a  leather  bag.  Now,  men 
look  at  truth  at  different  bits  of  it,  and  they  see  differ- 
ent things  of  course,  and  they  are  very  apt  to  imagine 
that  the  thing  which  they  have  seen  is  the  whole  affair 
— the  whole  thing.  In  reality,  we  can  only  see  a  very 
little  bit  at  a  time;  and  we  must,  I  think,  learn  to  be- 
lieve that  other  men  can  see  bits  of  truth  as  well  as  our- 
selves. Your  views  are  just  what  you  see  with  your 
own  eyes;  and  my  views  are  just  what  I  see;  and  what 
I  see  depends  on  just  where  I  stand,  and  what  you  see 
depends  on  just  where  you  stand  ;  and  truth  is  very 
much  bigger  than  an  elephant,  and  we  are  very  much 
blinder  than  any  of  those  blind  men  as  we  come  to  look 
at  it. 

Now,  I  am  not  going  to  say  any  more.  I  simply  want 
to  direct  your  minds  to  this  subject  at  the  beginning, 
that  we  may  not  miss  the  chances  that  are  going  here. 
Christ  has  made  us  aware  that  it  is  quite  possible  for  a 
man  to  have  ears  and  hear  nothing,  and  to  have  eyes 
and  see  not.  One  of  the  disciples  saw  a  great  deal  of 
Christ,  and  he  never  knew  Him.  "  Have  I  been  so  long 
time  with  you,  Philip,  and  yet  hast  thou  not  known 
me?"  "He  that  hath  seen  me  hath  seen  the  Father 
also."  Philip  had  never  seen  Him.  He  had  been  look- 
ing at  his  own  spectacles,  perhaps,  or  at  something  else, 
and  had  never  seen  Him.  If  the  instrument  had  been 
in  order,  he  would  have  seen  Christ.  And  I  would  just 
add  this  one  thing  more  :  The  test  of  value  of  the  dif- 

2* 


34  A   COLLEGE   OF  COLLEGES. 

ferent  verities  of  truth  depends  upon  one  thing:  wheth- 
er they  have  or  have  not  a  sanctifying  power.  That  is 
another  remarkable  association  in  the  mind  of  Christ— 
of  sanctification  with  truth — thinking  and  holiness — not 
to  be  found  in  any  of  the  sciences  or  in  any  of  the  phi- 
losophies.  It  is  peculiar  to  the  Bible.  Christ  said  ; 
"Sanctify  them  by  Thy  truth.  Thy  Word  is  truth.' 
Now,  gentlemen,  the  value  of  any  question — the  value 
of  any  theological  question — depends  upon  whether  it 
has  a  sanctifying  influence.  If  it  has  not,  don't  bother 
about  it.  Don't  let  it  disturb  your  minds  until  you 
have  exhausted  all  truths  that  have  sanctification  within 
them.  If  a  truth  makes  a  man  a  better  man,  then  let 
him  focus  his  instrument  upon  it  and  get  all  the  ac- 
quaintance with  it  he  can.  If  it  is  the  profane  babbling 
of  science,  falsely  so  called,  or  anything  that  has  an  in- 
jurious effect  upon  the  moral  and  spiritual  nature  of  a 
man,  it  is  better  let  alone.  And  above  all,  let  us  remem- 
ber to  hold  the  truth  in  love.  That  is  the  most  sancti- 
fying influence  of  all.  And  if  we  can  carry  away  from 
this  conference  the  mere  lessons  of  toleration,  and  leave 
behind  us  our  censoriousness,  and  criticalness,  and 
harsh  judgments  upon  one  another,  and  excommunicat- 
ing of  everybody  except  those  who  think  exactly  as  we 
do,  the  time  we  shall  spend  here  will  not  be  the  least 
useful  part  of  our  lives. 


CHAPTER   IV. 

DEALING    WITH    DOUBT. 

Address  by  Prof.  Drummond— Man  a  Born  Questioner-— The  Wrrld 
a  Riddle— Religious  Truths  Doubtable — Propriety  of  Humility 
and  Toleration — Two  Ways  of  Treating  Doubt  Contrasted — Dif- 
ference between  Doubt  and  Unbelief — A  Demand  for  Facts — 
Vulnerable  Religion — Unsolved  Problems  to  be  Shelved — The 
Duty  of  To-day — Reward  of  Obedience. 

There  is  a  subject  which  has  not  yet  been  touched 
upon  at  this  conference,  and  which  I  think  we  as  work- 
ers amongst  young  men  cannot  afford  to  keep  out  of 
sight — I  mean  the  subject  of  "  Doubt."  We  are  forced 
to  face  that  subject.  We  have  no  choice.  I  would 
rather  let  it  alone  ;  but  every  day  of  my  life  I  meet 
men  who  doubt,  and  I  am  c;  lite  sure  that  most  of  you 
have  innumerable  interviews  every  year  with  men  who 
raise  skeptical  difficulties  about  religion.  Now,  it  be- 
comes a  matter  of  great  practical  importance  that  we 
should  know  how  to  deal  wisely  with  these  men.  Upon 
the  whole,  I  think  these  are  the  best  men  in  the  country. 
I  speak  of  my  own  country.  I  speak  of  the  universities 
with  which  I  am  familiar,  and  I  say  that  the  men  who 
are  perplexed— the  men  who  come  to  you  w4th  serious 
and  honest  difficulties — are  the  best  men.  They  are  men 
of  intellectual  honesty,  and  cannot  allow  themselves  to 
be  put  to  rest  by  words,  or  phrases,  or  traditions,  or 
theologies,  but  who  must  get  •to  the  bottom  of  things 
for  themselves.  And  if  I  am  not  mistaken,  Christ  was 
very  fond  of  these  m,en.  The  outsiders  always  inter- 
ested Him,  and  touched  Him.     The  orthodox  people-* 

(35) 


36  A  COLLEGE   OF   COLLEGES. 

the  Pharisees— He  was  much  less  interested  in.  He 
went  with  publicans  and  sinners — with  people  who  were 
in  revolt  against  the  respectability,  intellectual  and  re- 
ligious, of  the  day.  And  following  Him,  we  are  entitled 
to  give  sympathetic  consideration  to  those  whom  He 
loved  and  took  trouble  with. 

First,  let  me  speak  for  a  moment  or  two  about  the 
origin  of  doubt.  In  the  first  place,  we  are  born  ques- 
tioners. Look  at  the  wonderment  of  a  little  child  in  its 
eyes  before  it  can  speak.  The  child's  great  word  when 
it  begins  to  speak  is,  "  why  ? "  Every  child  is  full  of 
every  kind  of  question,  about  every  kind  of  thing  that 
moves,  and  shines,  and  changes,  in  the  little  world  in 
which  it  lives.  That  is  the  incipient  doubt  in  the  nature 
of  man.  Respect  doubt  for  its  origin.  It  is  an  inevita- 
ble thing.  It  is  not  a  thing  to  be  crushed.  It  is  a  part 
of  man  as  God  made  him.  Heresy  is  truth  in  the  mak- 
ing, and  doubt  is  the  prelude  of  knowledge. 

Secondly  :  The  world  is  a  Sphinx.  It  is  a  vast  riddle — 
an  unfathomable  mystery  ;  and  on  every  side  there  is 
temptation  to  questioning.  In  every  leaf,  in  every  cell 
of  every  leaf,  there  are  a  hundred  problems.  There  are 
ten  good  years  of  a  man's  life  in  investigating  what  is 
in  a  leaf,  and  there  are  five  good  years  more  in  investi- 
gating the  things  that  are  in  the  things  that  are  in  the 
leaf.  God  has  planned  the  world  to  incite  men  to  intel- 
lectual activity. 

Thirdly  :  The  instrument  with  which  we  attempt  to 
investigate  truth  is  impaired.  Some  say  it  fell,  and  the 
glass  is  broken.  Some  say  prejudice,  heredity,  or  sin, 
have  spoiled  its  sight,  and  have  blinded  our  eyes  and 
deadened  our  ears.  In  any  case  the  instruments  with 
which  we  work  upon  truth,  even  in  the  strongest  men, 
are  feeble  and  inadequate  to  their  tremendous  task. 

And  in  the  fourth  place,  all  religious  truths  are  doubt- 


DEALING  WITH   DOUBT.  37 

able.  There  is  no  absolute  proof  for  any  one  of  them. 
Even  that  fundamental  truth — the  existence  of  a  God — 
no  man  can  prove  by  reason.  The  ordinary  proof  for 
the  existence  of  God  involves  either  an  assumption, 
argument  in  a  circle,  or  a  contradiction.  The  impres- 
sion of  God  is  kept  up  by  experience  ;  not  by  logic. 
And  hence,  when  the  experimental  religion  of  a  man,  of 
a  community,  or  of  a  nation,  wanes,  religion  wanes — 
their  idea  of  God  grows  indistinct,  and  that  man,  com- 
munity or  nation  becomes  infidel.  Bear  in  mind,  then, 
that  all  religious  truths  are  doubtable — even  those  which 
we  hold  most  strongly. 

What  does  this  brief  account  of  the  origin  of  doubt 
teach  us  ?  It  teaches  us  great  intellectual  humility.  It 
teaches  us  sympathy  and  toleration  with  all  men  who 
venture  upon  the  ocean  of  truth  to  find  out  a  path 
through  it  for  themselves.  Do  you  sometimes  feel  your- 
self thinking  unkind  things  about  your  fellow-students 
who  have  intellectual  difficulty  ?  I  know  hov%^  hard  it  is 
always  to  feel  sympathy  and  toleration  for  them  ;  but 
we  must  address  ourselves  to  that  most  carefully  and 
most  religiously.  If  my  brother  is  short-sighted  I  must 
not  abuse  him  or  speak  against  him  ;  I  must  pity  him, 
and  if  possible  try  to  improve  his  sight  or  to  make  things 
that  he  is  to  look  at  so  bright  that  he  cannot  help  seeing. 
But  never  let  us  think  evil  of  men  who  do  not  see  as  we 
do.  From  the  bottom  of  our  hearts  let  us  pity  them, 
and  let  us  take  them  by  the  hand  and  spend  time  and 
thought  over  them,  and  try  to  lead  them  to  the  true 
light. 

What  has  been  the  Church's  treatment  of  doubt  in  the 
past  ?  It  has  been  very  simple.  "  There  is  a  heretic. 
Burnliim!"  Thatisall.  "  There  is  a  man  who  has  gone 
off  the  road.  Bring  him  back  and  torture  him  !  "  We 
have   got  past  that  physically  ;   have  we  got   past   it 


38  A  COLLEGE   OF  COLLEGES. 

morally?  What  does  the  modern  Church  say  to  a  man 
who  is  skeptical  ?  Not  "  Burn  him  I  "  but  "  Brand  him  !  " 
"  Brand  him  ! — call  him  a  bad  name."  And  in  many 
countries  at  the  present  time,  a  man  who  is  branded  as 
a  heretic  is  despised,  tabooed,  and  put  out  of  religious 
•jociety,  much  more  than  if  he  had  gone  wrong  in  morals. 
I  think  I  am  speaking  within  the  facts  when  I  say  that 
a  man  who  is  unsound  is  looked  upon  in  many  commu- 
nities with  more  suspicion  and  with  more  pious  horror 
than  a  man  who  now  and  then  gets  drunk.  "  Burn  him  !  " 
"Brand  him  !  "  "Excommunicate  him  !"  That  has  been 
the  Church's  treatment  of  doubt,  and  that  is  perhaps  to 
some  extent  the  treatment  which  we  ourselves  are 
inclined  to  give  to  the  men  who  cannot  see  the  truths  of 
Christianity  as  we  see  them.  Contrast  Christ's  treat- 
ment of  doubt.  I  have  spoken  already  of  His  strange 
partiality  for  the  outsiders — for  the  scattered  heretics  up 
and  down  the  country  ;  of  the  care  with  which  He  loved 
to  deal  with  them,  and  of  the  respect  in  which  He  held 
their  intellectual  difficulties.  Christ  never  failed  to  dis- 
tinguish between  doubt  and  unbelief.  Doubt  is  caji't 
believe ;  MnhtXi&i  is  won't  believe.  Doubt  is  honesty  ;  unbe- 
lief is  obstinacy.  Doubt  is  looking  for  light ;  unbelief 
is  content  with  darkness.  Loving  darkness  rather  than 
light — that  is  what  Christ  attacked,  and  attacked 
unsparingly.  But  for  the  intellectual  questioning  of 
Thomas,  and  Philip,  and  Nicodemus,  and  the  many 
others  who  came  to  Him  to  have  their  great  problems 
solved.  He  was  respectful  and  generous  and  tolerant. 

And  how  did  He  meet  their  doubts  ?  The  Church,  as 
I  have  said,  says,  "  Brand  him  !  "  Christ  said,  "  Teach 
him."  He  destroyed  by  fulfilling.  When  Thomas  came 
to  Him  and  denied  His  very  resurrection,  and  stood 
before  Him  waiting  for  the  scathing  words  and  lashing 
for  his  unbelief,  they  never  came.     They  never  came. 


DEALING   WITH   DOUBT. 


39 


Christ  gave  him  facts — facts.  No  man  can  go  around 
facts.  Christ  said,  "  Behold  my  hands  and  my  feet." 
The  great  god  of  science  at  the  present  time  is  a  fact. 
It  works  with  facts.  Its  cry  is,  "  Give  me  facts."  Found 
anything  you  like  upon  facts  and  we  v/ill  believe  it.  The 
spirit  of  Christ  was  the  scientific  spirit.  He  founded 
His  religion  upon  facts  ;  and  He  asked  all  men  to  found 
their  religion  upon  facts.  Now,  gentlemen,  get  up  the 
facts  of  Christianity,  and  take  men  to  the  facts.  Theol- 
ogies—and I  am  not  speaking  disrespectfully  of  theol- 
ogy ;  theology  is  as  scientific  a  thing  as  any  other 
science  of  facts — but  theologies  are  human  versions  of 
Divine  truths,  and  hence  the  varieties  of  the  versions, 
and  the  inconsistencies  of  them.  I  would  allow  a  man 
to  select  whichever  version  of  this  truth  he  liked  after- 
wards ;  but  I  would  ask  him  to  begin  with  no  version, 
but  go  back  to  the  facts  and  base  his  Christian  life  upon 
that.  That  is  the  great  lesson  of  the  New  Testament 
way  of  looking  at  doubt — of  Christ's  treatment  of  doubt. 
It  is  not  "  Brand  him  !  " — but  lovingly,  wisely,  and  ten- 
derly to  teach  him.  Faith  is  never  opposed  to  reason  in 
the  New  Testament ;  it  is  opposed  to  sight.  You  will 
find  that  a  principle  worth  thinking  over.  Faith  is  never 
opposed  to  reason  in  the  New  Testament^  but  to  sight. 

Well,  now  ;  with  these  principles  in  mind  as  to  the 
origin  of  doubt,  and  as  to  Christ's  treatment  of  it,  how 
are  we  ourselves  to  deal  with  our  fellow-students  who 
are  in  intellectual  difficulty  ?  In  the  first  place,  I  think 
we  must  make  all  the  concessions  to  them  that  we  con- 
scientiously can.  When  a  doubter  first  encounters  you 
he  pours  out  a  deluge  of  abuse  of  churches,  and  minis- 
ters, and  creeds,  and  Christians.  Nine-tenths  of  what 
he  says  is  probably  true.  Make  concessions.  Agree 
with  him.  It  does  him  good  to  unburden  himself  of 
these  things.     He  has  been  cherishing  them  for  years 


40  A   COT.LEGE   OF  COLLEGES. 

— laying  them  up  against  Christians,  against  the  Church, 
and  against  Christianity;  and  now  he  is  startled  to  find 
the  first  Christian  with  whom  he  has  talked  over  the 
thing  almost  entirely  agrees  with  him.  We  are,  of 
course,  not  responsible  for  everything  that  is  said  in 
the  name  of  Christianity;  but  a  man  does  not  give  up 
medicine  because  there  are  quack  doctors,  and  no  man 
has  a  right  to  give  up  his  Christianity  because  there  are 
spurious  or  inconsistent  Christians.  Then,  as  I  already 
said,  creeds  are  human  versions  of  Divine  truths;  and 
we  do  not  ask  a  man  to  accept  all  the  creeds,  any  more 
than  we  ask  him  to  accept  all  the  Christians.  We  ask 
him  to  accept  Christ,  and  the  facts  about  Christ,  and 
the  words  of  Christ.  But  you  will  find  the  battle 
is  half  won  when  you  have  endorsed  the  man's  objec- 
tions, and  possibly  added  a  great  many  more  to  the 
charges  which  he  has  against  ourselves.  These  men, 
gentlemen,  are  in  revolt  against  the  kind  of  religion 
which  we  exhibit  to  the  world — against  the  cant  that  is 
taught  in  the  name  of  Christianity.  And  if  the  men 
that  have  never  seen  the  real  thing — if  you  could 
show  them  that,  they  would  receive  it  as  eagerly  as  you 
do.  They  are  merely  in  revolt  against  the  imperfec- 
tions and  inconsistencies  of  those  who  represent  Christ 
to  the  world. 

Second  :  Beg  them  to  set  aside,  by  an  act  of  will,  all 
unsolved  problems  :  such  as  the  problem  of  the  origin 
of  evil,  the  problem  of  the  Trinity,  the  problem  of  the 
relation  of  human  will  and  predestination,  and  so  on — 
problems  which  have  been  investigated  for  thousands 
of  years  without  result — ask  them  to  set  those  problems 
aside  as  insoluble  in  the  meantime,  just  as  a  man  w^ho  is 
studying  mathematics  may  be  asked  to  set  aside  the 
problem  of  squaring  the  circle.  Let  him  go  on  with 
what  can  be  done,  and  what  has  been  done,  and  Jeave 


DEALING  WITH   DOUBT.  41 

oit  of  sight  the  impossible.  You  will  find  that  -will 
relieve  the  skeptic's  mind  of  a  g-reat  deal  of  unnecessary 
cargo  that  has  been  in  his  way. 

Thirdly  :  Talking  about  difficulties,  as  a  rule,  only 
aggravates  them.  Entire  satisfaction  to  the  intellect  is 
unattainable  about  any  of  the  greater  problems,  and  if 
you  try  to  get  to  the  bottom  of  them  by  argument,  there 
is  no  bottom  there  ;  and  therefore  you  make  the  matter 
worse.  But  I  would  say  what  is  known,  and  what  can 
be  honestly  and  philosophically  and  scientifically  said 
about  one  or  two  of  the  difficulties  that  the  doubter 
raises,  just  to  show  him  that  you  can  do  it — to  show 
him  that  you  are  not  a  fool — that  you  are  not  merely 
groping  in  the  dark  yourself,  but  you  have  found  what- 
ever basis  is  possible.  But  I  would  not  go  around  all 
the  doctrines.  I  would  simply  do  that  with  one  or  two; 
because  the  moment  you  cut  off  one,  a  hundred  other 
heads  will  grow  in  its  place.  It  would  be  a  pity  if  all 
these  problems  could  be  solved.  The  joy  of  the  in 
tellectual  life  would  be  largely  gone.  I  would  not  rob 
a  man  of  his  problems,  nor  would  I  have  another  man 
rob  me  of  my  problems.  They  are  the  delight  of  life, 
and  the  whole  intellectual  world  would  be  stale  and  un- 
profitable if  we  knew  everything. 

Fourthly — and  this  is  the  great  point :  Turn  away 
from  the  reason,  and  go  into  the  man's  moral  life.  I 
don't  mean,  go  into  his  moral  life  and  see  if  the  man  is 
living  in  conscious  sin,  which  is  the  great  blinder  of  th. 
eyes — I  am  speaking  now  of  honest  doubt ;  but  open  a 
new  door  into  the  practical  side  of  the  man's  nature.  En- 
treat him  not  to  postpone  life  and  his  life's  usefulness 
until  he  has  settled  the  problems  of  the  universe.  Tell 
him  those  problems  will  never  all  be  settled  ;  that  his  life 
will  be  done  before  he  has  begun  to  settle  them  ;  and  ask 
him  what  he  is  doing  with  his  life  meantime.     Charge 


42  A  COLLEGE   OF  COLLEGES. 

him  with  wasting  his  life  and  his  usefulness ;  and  invite 
him  to  deal  with  the  moral  and  practical  difficulties  of 
the  world,  and  leave  the  intellectual  difficulties  as  he  goes 
along.  To  spend  time  upon  these  is  proving  the  less  im- 
portant before  the  more  important ;  and,  as  the  French 
sa3%  "  The  good  is  the  enemy  of  the  best."  It  is  a  good 
thing  to  think  ;  it  is  a  better  thing  to  work — it  is  a  better 
thing  to  do  good.  And  you  have  him  there,  you  see. 
He  can't  get  beyond  that.  You  have  to  tell  him,  in  fact, 
that  there  are  two  organs  of  knowledge  :  the  one  reason, 
the  other  obedience.  And  now  tell  him,  as  he  has  tried 
the  first  and  found  the  little  in  it,  just  for  a  moment  or 
two  to  join  you  in  trying  the  second.  And  when  he 
asks  whom  he  is  to  obey,  you  tell  him  there  is  but  One, 
and  lead  him  to  the  great  historical  figure  who  calls  all 
men  to  Him  :  the  one  perfect  life — the  one  Saviour  of 
mankind — the  one  Light  of  the  world.  Ask  him  to  be- 
gin to  obey  Christ ;  and,  doing  His  will,  he  shall  know 
of  the  doctrine  whether  it  be  of  God. 

That,  I  think,  is  about  the  only  thing  you  can  do  with 
a  man  :  to  get  him  into  practical  contact  with  the  needs 
of  the  world,  and  to  let  him  lose  his  intellectual  difficul- 
ties meantime.  Don't  ask  him  to  give  them  up  alto- 
gether. Tell  him  to  solve  them  afterward  one  by  one 
if  he  can,  but  meantime  to  give  his  life  to  Christ  and 
his  time  to  the  kingdom  of  God.  And,  you  see,  you 
fetch  him  completely  around  when  you  do  that.  You 
have  taken  him  away  from  the  false  side  of  his  nature, 
and  to  the  practical  and  moral  side  of  his  nature  ;  and 
for  the  first  time  in  his  life,  perhaps,  he  puts  things  in 
their  true  place.  He  puts  his  nature  in  the  relations  in 
which  it  ought  to  be,  and  he  then  only  begins  to  live. 
And  by  obedience — by  obedience — he  will  soon  become 
a  learner  and  pupil  for  himself,  and  Christ  will  teach 
him  things,  and  he  will  find  whatever  problems  are  solv- 


DEALING  WITH   DOUBT.  43 

able  gradually  solved  as  he  goes  along  the  path  of  prac- 
tical duty. 

Now,  gentlemen,  let  me  just,  in  closing,  give  you  a 
couple  of  instances  of  how  to  deal  with  specific  points. 
The  commonest  thing  that  we  hear  said  nowadays  by 
young  men  is,  "What  about  evolution?  How  am  I  to 
reconcile  my  religion,  or  any  religion,  with  the  doctrine 
of  evolution  ? "  That  upsets  more  men  than  perhaps  any- 
thing else  at  the  present  hour.  How  would  you  deal 
with  it  ?  I  would  say  to  a  man  that  Christianity  is  the 
further  evolution.  I  don't  know  any  better  definition 
than  that.  It  is  the  further  evolution — the  higher  evo- 
lution. I  don't  start  with  him  to  attack  evolution.  I 
don't  start  with  him  to  defend  it.  I  destroy  by  fulfilling 
it.  I  take  him  at  his  own  terms.  He  says  evolution 
is  that  which  pushes  the  man  on  from  the  simple  to 
the  complex,  from  the  lower  to  the  higher.  Very  well  ; 
that  is  what  Christianity  does.  It  pushes  the  man  far- 
ther on.  It  takes  him  where  nature  has  left  him,  and 
carries  him  on  to  heights  which  on  the  plane  of  nature 
he  could  never  reach.  That  is  evolution.  *'  Lead  me  to 
the  Rock  that  is  higher  than  I."  That  is  evolution.  It 
is  the  development  of  the  whole  man  in  the  highest 
directions — the  drawing  out  of  his  spiritual  being.  Show 
an  evolutionist  that,  and  you  have  taken  the  wind  out  of 
his  sails.  "  I  came  not  to  destroy."  Don't  destroy  his 
doctrine — perhaps  you  can't — but  fulfil  it.  Put  a  larger 
meaning  into  it. 

The  other  instance — the  next  commonest  question  per- 
haps— is  the  question  of  miracles.  It  is  impossible,  of 
course,  to  discuss  that  now — miracles  ;  but  that  question 
is  thrown  at  my  head  every  second  day  :  "  What  do  you 
say  to  a  man  when  he  says  to  you,  '  Why  do  you  believe 
in  miracles  ? ' "  I  say,  "  Because  I  have  seen  them."  He 
says,  "When  ?'    I  say,  "Yesterday."  He  says,  "Where?" 


44  A   COLLEGE   OF  COLLEGES. 

**  Down  such-and-such  a  street  I  saw  a  man  who  was  a 
drunkard  redeemed  by  the  power  of  an  unseen  Christ 
and  saved  from  sin.  That  is  a  miracle."  The  best  apolo- 
getic for  Christianity  is  a  Christian.  That  is  a  fact  which 
the  man  cannot  get  over.  There  are  fifty  other  argu- 
ments for  miracles,  but  none  so  good  as  that  you  have 
seen  them.  Perhaps  you  are  one  yourself.  But  take 
you  a  man  and  show  him  a  miracle  with  his  own  eyes. 
Then  he  will  believe. 


CHAPTER  V. 

PRIMITIVE    ORTHODOXY. 

Address  by  Prof.  L.  D.  Townsend,  of  Boston  University — Historical 
Account  of  Successive  Attempts  to  Modify  Christian  Doctrines — 
Nineteen  Centuries  of  Failure — Triumphs  of  the  Evangelical 
Faith — The  World's  Panacea  To-day — A  Marine  Parable — The 
Liberal  Ship  and  the  Orthodox  Ship. 

At  the  present  time,  and  in  all  religious  denomina- 
tions, there  are  those  who  think,  in  all  sincerity,  that 
certain  phases  of  the  Gospel  should  be  modified  to  suit 
popular  taste  ;  and  that  the  time  has  fully  come,  as  the 
saying  is,  to  re-state  the  old  creeds  of  Christendom. 
There  is  as  yet,  it  is  true,  no  general  agreement  as  to 
just  how  sweeping  the  changes  shall  be.  The  opinion 
of  one  is  that  the  doctrines  of  an  inspired  Bible,  of  the 
resurrection  of  the  dead,  of  the  vicarious  atonement, 
should  each  be  modified  ;  the  opinion  of  another  is  that 
the  doctrine  of  future  and  endless  punishment  should 
no  longer  be  urged  as  a  motive  to  lead  men  to  Christ. 
There  are  those,  too,  who  think  it  possible  that  there 
may  be  a  future  probation  for  those  who  have  had  no 
probation  in  this  life,  and  possibly  a  future  probation 
for  all.  In  point  of  fact,  there  would  not  be  much  left, 
excepting  odds  and  ends,  if  all  these  different  claimants 
for  change  and  modification  were  allowed  each  to  ex- 
purgate from  Christianity  what  he  thinks  proper. 

Now  the  men  proposing  these  various  changes  in 
Christian  belief  are  honest,  earnest,  intelligent,  and 
whatever  else  there  may  be  of  excellence  in  Christian 

US) 


46  A   COLLEGE   OF  COLLEGES. 

character,  it  must  be  admitted,  belongs  to  them  as  well 
as  to  others.  Perhaps  among  the  best  of  our  acquaint- 
ances are  those  who,  should  they  break  their  silence, 
would  ask  these  questions  :  "  May  it  not  be  as  well  for 
us  to  admit  that  Christ  was  a  very  good  man,  without 
claiming  for  Him  supreme  divinity?"  "  May  it  not  be 
enough  to  say  that  evangelical  Christianity  will  last  for 
a  time,  and  then,  like  all  other  things,  pass  away  ?  '* 
"Are  we  sure  we  are  right,  while  maintaining  the  old 
views  of  resurrection,  of  inspiration,  of  a  final  judgment, 
of  endless  punishment,  of  no  probation  after  death,  and 
will  not  our  mortification  be  less,  in  case  of  final  defeat, 
provided  we  concede  extreme  grounds,  occupy  a  middle 
position,  and  avoid  thereby  all  controversy  ?  " 

With  the  kindest  feelings  toward  all,  and  with  malice 
toward  none,  I  am  sure  we  can  look  calmly  at  a  few  his- 
toric facts  bearing  upon  these  problems.  And  in  the 
first  place,  it  is  well  to  note  that  a  plea  for  the  modifica- 
tion of  Christian  doctrines  is  no  new  thing  among  men. 
In  the  first  century  the  members  of  the  Corinthian 
church  greatly  desired  and  clamored  for  an  easier  state 
of  doctrinal  affairs,  and  it  required  all  the  earnestness 
and  energy  of  the  Apostle  Paul  to  control  that  tendency 
to  drift  from  the  moorings  that  already  had  been  estab- 
lished. You  need  not  look  beyond  that  church  at  Cor- 
inth to  find  a  larger  proportion  of  nominal  Christians 
who  held  to  liberal  constructions  than  can  now  be  found 
in  any  evangelical  church  in  New  England.  Nor  can 
you  find  any  modern  church  where  morality  is  at  such  a 
deplorably  low  ebb  as  it  was  in  that  Corinthian  commu- 
nity. That  church  at  Corinth  will  remain  forever  a 
striking  example  of  the  coincidence  of  lax  morality  and 
liberalistic  belief. 

But  passing  down  from  Apostolic  times,  we  discover 
that  during  the  period  extending  from  90  to  320  there 


PRIMITIVE   ORTHODOXY.  47 

were  several  efforts  to  re-state  Christianity.  Especially 
iioteworthy  was  the  attempt  of  Origen,  who  was  an 
honest  man,  a  great  man,  and  the  most  learned  one 
among  the  Church  fathers.  It  is  a  fair  inference  that 
he  confidently  expected  to  establish  the  doctrine,  not 
only  of  a  future,  but  of  an  endless  probation.  Yet,  not- 
withstanding his  learning,  eloquence,  and  influence,  the 
mass  of  Christian  people  saw  plainly  enough  that 
Christ's  words  and  the  words  of  the  Apostles  could  not 
allow  of  any  such  interpretation.  And  Origen's  views 
of  an  endless  probation  died  with  him.  At  least,  they 
had  no  influence  with  the  great  body  of  Christian 
people. 

It  was  during  this  same  period  that  other  distinguished 
men  attempted  various  modifications.  For  instance, 
Clement,  of  Alexandria,  made  the  teaching  and  example 
of  Christ  of  more  importance  in  the  work  of  redemption 
than  His  death  and  suffering.  It  looked  for  a  time  as 
though  there  would  be  a  reconstruction  of  Christianity. 
But  Clement  had  not  been  long  dead  before  scarcely 
any  one  opposed  the  more  primitive  and  Apostolic  view, 
namely,  that  the  death  and  blood  of  Christ  in  human 
redemption  are  of  pre-eminent  significance. 

Likewise  during  the  second  period,  extending  from 
320  to  726,  there  were  occasional  waverings  in  belief. 
Gregory,  who  was  a  noted  churchman,  may  be  taken  as 
representative  of  one  phase  of  the  progressive  orthodoxy 
of  those  times.  He  appears  to  have  been  confident  of 
the  establishment  of  the  doctrine  that  good  is  ultimately 
to  succeed  all  evil.  His  voice  and  his  pen  were  em- 
ployed in  the  defence  of  that  opinion.  But  his  efforts, 
like  those  of  Origen  and  Clement,  were  unavailing  ;  they 
failed  because  Christian  people  felt,  that  upon  the  words 
of  Christ  and  upon  those  of  the  Apostles,  no  such  doc- 
trine as  the  final  dismissal  of  evil  from  the  universe  and 


48  A  COLLEGE  OF  COLLEGES. 

the  ultimate  happiness  of  all  could  possibly  be  estab- 
lished. 

The  era  following  Leo  I.,  also  in  the  times  just  pre- 
ceding the  Reformation  under  Luther  and  a  century 
after  the  Reformation,  and  again  in  the  time  of  Hobbes, 
which  was  "  the  age  of  the  trifling  head  and  corrupted 
heart,"  were  periods  of  reaction  and  of  break-ups  in  be- 
liefs. During  these  different  periods,  the  fundamental 
doctrines  of  Christianity  were  sneered  at,  and  there 
seemed  to  be  none  who  cared  to  do  them  reverence. 
But  in  each  instance,  men  after  a  time  became  sick  of 
their  non  belief.  They  craved  something  upon  which 
their  troubled  souls  could  rest,  and,  as  if  in  response  to 
this  longing,  the  Spirit  of  God  came  and  fanned  the 
pallid  face  of  the  Church  into  the  glow  of  original  health, 
and  the  Gospel,  with  all  its  primitive  doctrines,  clad 
anew  in  all  the  splendid  form  and  power  of  truth, 
emerged  from  those  seas  of  darkness  and  graced  again 
the  world  with  its  cheerful  and  marvellous  life.  They 
were  the  fundamental  Church  doctrines,  since  recog- 
nized as  our  evangelical  belief,  that  the  hearts  of  men 
longed  for,  and  when  they  were  announced  and  em- 
braced, men  were  satisfied. 

Allow  me  to  call  attention  to  one  other  period,  that 
extending  from  1700  to  1740,  which  witnessed  another 
season  of  general  lapsing  from  primitive  Christian  life 
and  doctrine  into  unbelief  and  immorality.  The  dead- 
ness  existing  in  the  Established  Church  of  England  is 
commented  upon  by  all  historians  of  that  period.  The 
fundamental  doctrines  of  the  Church  were  hardly  thought 
of.  The  Church  became  a  scene  of  heartless  ceremonies, 
and  its  religion  had  nothing  in  it  to  cheer  the  people  in 
their  sorrow,  or  to  inspire  them  to  purity  or  holiness. 
In  a  word,  drinking,  gambling,  cock-fighting,  balls,  and 
every  species  of  popular  vice  received  the  patronage  of 


PRIMITIVE   ORTHODOXY.  49 

the  Church  and  the  clergy.  Future  probation  and  uni- 
versal salvation  were  the  good  cheer  for  the  people  of 
those  times. 

Nor  were  religious  affairs  in  any  better  condition  at 
that  time  in  the  United  States  than  they  were  in  Great 
Britain.  As  early  as  17 10,  church  discipline  seems  to 
have  beer,  at  an  end  ;  none  were  excluded  from  the 
Lord's  table,  unconverted  men  were  ordained  for  the 
ministry,  and  in  general,  the  difierence  between  the 
Church  and  the  world  had  well-nigh  vanished.  There 
was  then  no  rigorous  doctrinal  preaching.  Says  Mr. 
Tracy,  in  speaking  of  that  period  :  "  Such  had  been  the 
downward  progress  in  New  England,  that  the  difference 
between  the  Church  and  the  world  was  vanishing  away. 
Church  discipline  was  neglected,  and  the  growing  lax- 
ness  of  morals  was  invading  all  the  churches.  And  yet, 
never,  perhaps,  had  the  expectation  of  reaching  heaven 
at  last  been  more  general  or  more  confident.  The  young 
were  abandoning  themselves  to  frivolity  and  to  amuse- 
ments of  dangerous  tendency."  The  ancient  doctrines 
of  the  Church  were  unthought  of,  the  foundations  of 
Gospel  faith  were  loosened,  skeptics  were  triumphant, 
and  Christianity  seemed  doomed.  But  the  people  were 
not  satisfied  to  remain  long  in  that  condition.  The)'' 
became  tired  of  a  corrupt  and  creedless  Church  ;  they 
hungered  for  something  that  would  satisfy. 

The  two  Wesleys,  Whitefield,  Fletcher,  and  others  were 
iroved  upon  and  commenced  to  preach  the  primitive 
doctrines  of  Christianity;  men's  hearts  quickly  re- 
sponded to  the  preaching  ;  they  smote  upon  their  breasts, 
and  asked  what  they  should  do  to  be  saved.  The  min- 
ing and  manufacturing  districts  of  Great  Britain  had 
never  experienced  any  such  religious  movement.  John 
Newton  relates  that  in  one  week  George  Whitefield  re- 
ceived not  fewer  th^n  a  thousand  letters  from  persons 
3 


so  A  COLLEGE   OF  COLLEGES. 

distressed  in  their  consciences  in  view  of  their  sins. 
"Then  it  was  that  dukes  and  duchesses  bowed  before 
the  cross  ;  and  such  men  as  Chesterfield  and  Boling- 
broke,  Mr.  Pitt  and  Lord  North,  the  Duke  of  Grafton, 
and  Mr.  Fox,  and  Garrick,  and  the  flower  of  English  aris* 
tocracy,  withered  under  the  burning  rays  of  the  taber- 
nacle," and  the  English  Church  was  born  again.  This 
renovation,  bear  in  mind,  was  not  in  consequence  of 
liberal  views  of  any  kind.  It  was  not  an  advanced  or- 
thodoxy, or  a  progressive  orthodoxy,  but  was  primitive 
and  historic  orthodoxy,  that  then  stirred  into  religious 
life  every  community  in  Great  Britain.  "  The  Bible  is 
the  Word  of  God  and  is  inspired";  "  Man  is  a  sinner"; 
"  Christ  through  His  death  and  suffering  is  the  only 
Saviour  from  endless  death,"  were  the  doctrines  preached 
on  the  threshold  of  that  great  and  grand  revival.  The 
movement  and  results  were  much  the  same  in  America 
as  in  England.  Certain  creatures  felt  that  they  must 
announce  anew  the  neglected  doctrines  of  the  Gospel. 
Prominent  among  these  men  was  Jonathan  Edwards, 
who,  though  ridiculed  and  opposed  by  persons  in  the 
Church  as  well  as  out  if  it,  preached  a  series  of  sermons 
on  "  Justification  by  Faith  Alone."  These  sermons  were 
followed  by  others  upon  "  Endless  Punishment,"  "  God's 
Sovereignty,"  and  "  Man's  Helplessness."  This  series 
was  hardly  finished  before  there  were  signal  displays  of 
Divine  power  which  surprised  others  no  more  than  they 
did  Edwards  himself. 

"  The  Spirit  of  God,"  he  says,  **  begun  extraordinarily 
to  set  in,  and  wonderfully  to  work  among  us  ;  and  there 
were  very  suddenly,  one  after  another,  those  who  were 
wrought  upon  in  a  very  remarkable  manner.  At  length, 
all  other  talk  but  about  spiritual  and  eternal  things  was 

thrown  by There  was  scarcely  a  person  in  all  the 

town,  old  or  young,  left  unconcerned  about  the  things 


PRIMITIVE   ORTHODOXY.  5 1 

of  the  eternal  world."  And  again,  there  was  a  r  ost 
decided  and  a  most  pronounced  return  to  the  funda- 
mental doctrines  of  the  Gospel  of  Christ,  and  men  may 
say  what  they  please  to  the  contrary,  there  never  yet  has 
been  in  Christian  lands  a  revival  of  religion  or  an  im- 
provement in  a  Christian  nation's  morals,  except  in  con- 
nection with  the  preaching  of  evangelical  Christianity 
as  defended  by  the  Church  of  Christ  through  the  ages. 
Judging  historically,  I  should  no  more  expect  a  sweep- 
ing revival  of  religion  through  a  modification  of  what 
is  known  of  primitive  orthodoxy,  than  I  should  expect 
men  can  satisfy  their  hunger  by  eating,  or  by  trying  to 
eat  stones  instead  of  bread.  There  is  no  doubt  that  it 
can  be  shown  historically,  though  I  hesitate  to  say  it, 
that  a  hypocrite  preaching  a  sound  theology,  is  surer  of 
a  revival  in  religion  and  morals  than  is  a  really  good 
man  who  preaches  an  unsound  theology. 

But  let  us  continue  the  historic  thread  a  moment 
onger.  Dr.  Ballou,  and  certain  other  clergymen  who 
;ympathized  with  him,  contended  in  1795  that  Chris- 
tianity in  America  needed  re-statement.  Universalism 
was  the  result,  its  advocates  confidently  predicting  the 
speedy  and  final  overthrow  of  the  worn-out  creeds  of 
Christendom.  Dr.  Channing  and  a  few  fellow-laborers, 
twenty  years  later,  thought  that  another  re-statement 
was  needed.  Their  followers  caused  a  split  in  Congre- 
gationalism, confiscated  a  large  amount  of  church  and 
school  property,  and  clearly  saw,  as  they  thought,  the 
speedy  and  final  burial  of  the  moss-grown  doctrines  of 
the  Gospel.  But  somehow  those  doctrines  have  sur- 
vived. And  I  speak  what  you  all  know,  and  I  speak  it 
in  all  kindness,  that  the  progressive  views  of  Drs.  Ballou 
and  Channing  have  utterly  failed  i  i  accomplishing  what 
was  expected  and  intended. 
During  these  various  periods  of  religious  departures 


52  A   COLLEGE   OF   COLLEGES. 

and  declensions,  unbelievers  have  made  all  sorts  ol 
threats  and  predictions.  As  early  as  the  fourth  century, 
Diocletian  and  Galerius,  thinking  the  last  days  of  Chris- 
tianity had  come,  symbolized  it  on  their  medals  as  a 
strangled  hydra  with  the  haughty  inscription  :  "  Deleta 
Christiana'  Religione."  In  1740  David  Hume  confi- 
dently predicted  the  downfall  of  Christianity  in  the  19th 
century.  About  the  same  time  Voltaire  asserted  with 
great  assurance  that,  though  it  had  taken  twelve  men  to 
plant  Christianity,  his  single  arm  should  root  it  out. 
Later,  Thomas  Paine  boasted  that  he  had  cut  down 
every  tree  in  the  garden  of  Paradise.  And  in  1840  Mr. 
Parker  publicly  declared  that  he  would  traverse  New 
England  in  all  directions,  that  his  voice  should  be  heard 
in  city  and  village,  and  that  unless  there  was  something 
more  in  the  popular  theology  than  he  dreamed  of,  he 
would  demolish  it  to  the  foundations.  But  he  did  not 
demolish  it,  and  the  history  of  the  28th  Congregational 
Society  of  Boston,  organized  by  Mr.  Parker,  v/hose  suc- 
cessors were  Mr.  Wasson,  Mr.  Longfellow,  and  Mr. 
Alger,  is  a  fair  representation  of  the  history  and  failure 
of  attempts  to  modify  any  of  the  fundamental  doctrines 
of  the  Christian  Church.  The  more  radical  the  move- 
ments, the  more  sudden  the  deaths.  Conservative  de- 
partures die  slowly — with  lingering  deaths — but  they 
die.  These  men,  intelligent  and  educated  as  they  cer- 
tainly were,  might  as  well  have  contended  against  the 
advancement  of  the  human  race,  or  the  majestic  provi- 
dence of  God.  All  that  any  of  these  so-called  reform- 
ers have  accomplished  since  the  second  century  has  lut 
shaken  one  single  truth  of  Christianity,  as  originally 
set  forth  by  our  Lord  and  His  disciples.  The  results  of 
their  efforts  in  every  instance  have  been  strikingly  uni- 
form. They  have  glared  for  a  time,  then  glimmered, 
and  then  at  length  have  disappeared  in  the  surrounding 


PRIMITIVE   ORTHODOXY. 


53 


darkness.  As  factors  in  the  world's  redemption,  they 
have  had  the  most  insignificant  influence,  v/hile  the 
primitive  faith  of  the  Church,  notwithstanding  its  occa- 
sional lapses,  has  continued  to  gather  men  to  its  bosom, 
ins;.iriag  and  comforting  them  with  consolations  that 
the  world  cannot  give. 

Now,  in  view  of  what  has  taken  place,  we  may  confi- 
dently say  that  if  Apostolic  Christianity  were  to  die  it 
would  have  died  long  ago.  It  has  had  many  good 
chances  to  die — better  chances  than  it  will  ever  have 
again.  It  would  have  been  bound  to  the  stake  with  the 
early  martyrs,  have  expired  in  their  ashes  and  have  been 
entombed  in  the  graves  of  her  first  and  last  apostles. 
But  "  all  true  work,"  as  Carlyle  has  said,  "  hang  the 
author  of  it  on  what  gibbet  you  like,  must  and  will 
accomplish  itself." 

But  som.e  one  asks  if  there  has  not  been  a  decline  in 
evangelical  Christianity  in  the  present  century.  Well, 
let  us  see.  In  the  last  forty-two  years  in  the  United 
States,  the  numbers  of  evangelical  churches  have 
increased  eight  millions,  while  the  churches  denying 
evangelical  teaching  have  decreased  sixty- four  in  mem- 
bership. This  increase  of  eight  millions  of  evangelical 
Christianity  in  forty-two  years  in  the  United  States,  and 
this  decrease  of  sixty-four  in  anti-evangelical  churches 
in  the  same  time,  w^ould  seem  to  confirm  the  opinion, 
which  the  trend  of  all  history  also  confirms,  that  the 
religious  truths  which  satisfy  the  hunger  of  human  souls 
are  to  be  found  nowhere  except  in  our  evangelical  com- 
munion. What  else,  indeed,  could  be  expected  ?  Evan- 
gelical or  essential  Christianity  is  the  interpretation 
which  the  general  Christian  consciousness  for  1800  years, 
under  the  illumination  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  has  put  upon 
the  words  of  the  prophets,  and  ihe  w-ords  of  our  Lord 


54  A  COLLEGE  OF  COLLEGES. 

and  His  Apostles.     Bold  must  be  the  man  who  contra 
diets  such  interpretation. 

And  yet  we  may  presume  that  in  the  future,  as  in  the 
past,  there  will  be  efforts  to  modify  historic  Christianity. 
Men  will  forget  the  progressive  movements  of  Clement, 
of  Origen,  of  Gregory,  of  Dr.  Ballou,  of  Dr.  Channing, 
of  Mr.  Parker,  and  will  propose  another  re-statement. 
The  minds  of  many  may  for  a  time  be  unsettled,  and  the 
primitive  evangelical  faith  may  pause  during  its  sublime 
advance,  but  not  because  the  end  of  its  journey  is 
reached.  This  ancient  faith,  as  interpreted  by  Christian 
consciousness,  stands  not  in  the  breath  of  a  given  gen- 
eration. It  moves  on,  independent  of  accidents,  inci- 
dents, of  anything  historic  or  transitory.  Judged  his- 
torically, it  will  witness  the  consummation  of  human 
history. 

I  am  not  unmindful  of  the  existing  feeling  that  because 
a  thing  has  been  a  long  time  among  us,  it  is  outgrown 
and  should  be  given  up.  The  reasoning  in  regard  to 
evangelical  Christianity  is,  that  it  is  old,  was  well  enough 
500  or  1,000  years  ago,  but  is  now  superannuated.  What 
can  men  mean  by  such  assertions  ?  There  are  certain 
immutable  elements  in  the  primitive  Christian  faith,  as 
there  are  in  nature,  which  never  have  changed,  and  never 
can  change,  and  which  will  never  outgrow  the  passions 
and  loves,  of  the  human  souL  The  beauty  of  a  mild 
sunset,  the  sublimity  of  a  midnight  heaven,  the  dazzle 
of  lightnings  playing  across  the  sky,  the  repose  and 
beauty  of  a  lily  clad  in  raiment  surpassing  that  of  any 
present  or  future  Solomon  in  all  his  glory,  will  not  be 
outgrown,  though  society  should  exist  in  a  state  of  con- 
stant progress  for  10,000  years. 

So  also,  a  system  so  thoroughly  adapted  to  mankind 
as  is  the  evangelical  system  of  Christianity ;  a  system 
which  stands  out  as  a  kind  of  "  spiritual  highland  "  and 


PRIMITIVE   ORTHODOXY.  55 

headland  for  the  human  race  ;  a  system  which,  the  more 
it  is  studied  and  experienced,  is  the  more  highly  prized, 
whose  path  is  always  the  path  of  peace,  knowledge,  ele- 
vation, emancipation,  salvation  ;  a  system  various  in 
manner,  flexible  in  its  circumstantials,  while  most  flexi- 
ble in  its  essence  ;  full  of  strength  for  the  weak,  of  con- 
solation for  the  sorrowful,  of  hope  for  the  discouraged, 
of  stimulus  for  the  sluggish,  of  defence  for  the  defence- 
less, of  authority  for  the  many,  of  terror  for  the  bad,  of 
reward  for  the  good,  of  pardon  for  the  penitent ;  a  sys- 
tem which  can  satisfy  all  the  desires  that  human  want 
awakens,  which  can  enter  all  dark  places  and  leave  them 
full  of  light  by  conquering  despair  and  instituting  its 
wonderful  miracles  of  renovation  ;  a  S3'-stem  that  can 
convert  dens  of  thieves  into  bethels  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
and  which  can  cast  out  its  legion  of  devils,  and  say  to 
wretches,  whose  brains  have  been  in  a  perpetual  *'  craze,'* 
and  whose  hearts  have  been  "  filled  v;ith  all  sorts  of  vil- 
lainies," "  Peace,  be  still ";  a  system  which  can  stand 
by  the  bedside  of  the  dying,  quell  every  misgiving,  wipe 
away  the  death-sweat,  and  leave  the  brow  calm  and 
serene  as  heaven — a  system  which  can  perfect  the  indi- 
vidual, bless  the  family,  correct  and  purify  society,  and 
civilize  the  world  ;  which  can,  in  fine,  do  everything  it 
promises  to  do,  and  promises  to  do  everything  essential 
to  human  happiness,  here  and  hereafter — such  a  system 
has  the  unencumbered  guarantee  of  all  times.  Its  foun- 
dations are  impregnable.  Its  fortified  home  is  in  the 
wants  and  depths  of  human  souls.  And  human  nature, 
in  its  better  moments  and  conditions,  will  support  and 
endow  it  with  her  last  dollar  and  her  last  strength. 

Therefore,  let  this  sublime  system  alone,  except  to 
embrace  it,  seems  to  be  the  stern  voice  of  the  ages  to  the 
Church  of  the  nineteenth  century.  What  Christianity 
needs  to-day  is  not  a  re-statement,  but  men  and  churches 


$6  A   COLLEGE   OF  COLLEGES. 

who  will  live  up  to  it  just  as  it  is,  without  the  slightest 
re-statement,  and  when  this  is  done  we  shall  not  be  far 
from  seeing  on  this  earth  a  state  of  society  which  will 
need  no  improvement.  Why  does  the  world  listen  to  the 
story  of  the  Cross  ?  The  reason  is  that  God  has  so 
builded  man  that  there  is  a  place  in  his  heart  which 
nothing  but  the  Cross  of  Christ  can  fill.  Therefore,  if 
you  present  the  Cross  of  Christ  and  the  kindred  doc- 
trines (for  they  are  all  united  in  one  arch),  men  will 
listen,  in  heathen  as  well  as  in  Christian  lands.  The  au- 
thor of  Christianity  is  the  author  of  the  human  heart ; 
they  must  fit  each  other. 

It  was  proved  in  Boston  the  past  winter,  during  the 
services  of  Mr.  Jones  and  Mr.  Small,  as  it  has  been  re- 
peatedly proved  in  the  great  cities  East  and  West,  at 
home  and  abroad,  during  the  services  of  the  organizer 
of  this  convention,  that  men  will  throng,  as  nowhere 
else,  to  those  places  where  the  Gospel  is  preached  in  a 
plain,  honest  way,  and  where  the  "  blood  of  Christ,"  and 
the  words  "judgment "  and  "hell"  are  restored  to  the 
pulpit.  And,  young  gentlemen,  if  in  either  the  home  or 
the  foreign  field  you  yield  to  the  temptation  to  feed  men 
upon  anything  except  the  Gospel  of  Christ,  as  inter- 
preted through  the  ages  by  the  general  Christian  con- 
sciousness, it  will  be  the  mistake  of  3^our  lifetime. 

Our  last  word  is  a  parable.  A  voyage  around  the  world 
is  planned.  Tvv^o  ships  are  in  the  offings  of  the  harbor. 
Each  one  is  recommended  by  those  who  have  a  persona, 
interest  in  them  and  a  personal  interest  in  us.  We  are 
invited  on  board  to  examine,  inquire,  and  decide  for  our- 
selves. The  first  ship  is  under  the  command  of  an  ad- 
vanced theologian.  He  believes  in  progressiveness,  in 
the  Apostle  John  rather  than  in  Paul,  and  in  the  preach- 
ing of  smooth  things.  His  greetings  are  cordial  and 
polite.     His  ship  appears  to  be  in  the  completest  trim^ 


PRIMITIVE   ORTIIODOXV.  57 

and  it  appears  unnecessary  to  visit  the  other  ship  in  the 
harbor.  Still,  for  some  reason,  unaccountable  perhaps,, 
you  decide  to  go  on  board  the  second  ship.  You  find 
her  under  the  command  of  an  old-school  Christian.  He 
believes  in  an  inspired  Bible,  salvation  through  the 
blood  of  Christ,  in  life  and  death  everlasting.  As  you 
reach  the  deck,  he  is  pleased  to  greet  you,  but  has  no 
succession  of  smiles  like  those  upon  the  face  of  the 
liberal  captain.  Often  he  seems  sober,  sometimes  de- 
pressed. It  was  David  Hume  who  said,  "  I  have  never 
long  been  in  company  with  a  clergyman  without  discover- 
ing a  sad  expression  stealing  over  his  face."  Under  the 
circumstances,  that  was  a  compliment  to  clergymen, 
though  intended  as  a  criticism. 

This  second  ship  is  less  inviting  than  was  the  first. 
Outside  there  is  no  varnish ;  the  cordage  and  canvas 
look  as  though  they  had  seen  more  than  one  voyage  and 
had  encountered  more  than  one  storm.  The  men  on 
board  have  no  gloves  on  their  hands,  or  rings  on  their 
fingers,  and  their  faces  look  as  though  they  were  made 
of  copper.  There  is  no  tapestry  and  no  lace.  You  look 
dov/n  into  the  forecastle:  it  is  not  over  and  above  inviting:, 
for  there  are  in  it  the  poor,  the  sick,  the  lame,  the  blind, 
the  emigrant.  You  look  down  into  the  hold,  and  you  miss 
the  odor  of  lavender  which  you  breathed  on  board  the 
other  ship,  and  you  say,  "  This  is  enough,"  and  back  to 
the  other  ship  you  go — the  chloroform  and  lavender 
ship.  You  are  on  the  point  of  saying  to  the  captain,  "  I 
will  take  passage  with  you,  sir,"  but  for  some  reason  you 
hesitate.  Why,  you  can  hardly  tell.  During  this  hesi- 
tation the  wind  is  freshening  from  the  east.  Soon  there 
comes  in  a  swell  from  the  sea.  It  strikes  the  ship  quar- 
tering, and  she  appears  to  have  faulty  joints,  with  no- 
thing firm  about  her.  The  seams  open  and  grin  at  you 
like  skeletons;  the  pumps  are  put  to  work.    And  you  say 

3* 


58  A  COLLEGE   OF  COLLEGES. 

to  the  captain,  "What  does  this  mean?"  "Oh,"  he  re- 
plies, "this  is  nothing."  "But,  ought  a  seaworthy  ship 
like  this  shake  under  these  seas?"  "Oh,  yes,  this  is 
nothing.  We're  all  right."  "  Captain,  how  many  times 
did  you  say  this  ship  had  been  round  the  world?" 
"  Round  the  world  !  Oh,  she's  never  been  round  the 
world.  She's  hardly  finished  yet."  "Well,  then,  are 
you  perfectly  sure  she  can  double  Cape  Horn  in  a  gale 
of  wind  and  in  a  snow-squall?"  "Oh,  yes,  there  is  no 
trouble.  The  stories  about  doubling  Cape  Horn  are  all 
exaggerated;  the  difficulties  are  imaginary;  you  can  go 
round  Cape  Horn  just  as  well  as  you  can  go  round  C?-^^/ 
Cod  when  the  wind  is  nor'  by  nor'west,  if  you  on'/ 
think  so."  And  when  the  captain  has  said  this,  you 
still  think  there  i  ssome  danger  in  doubling  Cape  Horn. 
And  there  is,  not  far  off,  a  rough,  bold  cape  which  we 
must  all  double  some  day  or  some  night. 

At  the  risk  of  being  thought  fickle,  you  ask  to  be 
rowed  back  to  the  orthodox  ship.  The  wind  has  in- 
creased meanwhile,  and  quite  a  sea  rolling  into  the  har- 
bor. You  are  on  board.  A  swell  strikes  her ;  another, 
and  another  strike  her.  But  they  seem,  under  her 
stalwart  bows,  nothing  but  gentle  thuds;  not  a  chair 
tips,  not  a  dish  slides  from  its  fastenings  ;  with  that 
heavy  anchor,  and  that  big,  rough,  unpolished,  rusty  iron 
cable,  reaching  down  into  the  heart  of  the  sea,  the 
staunch  ship  does  not  seem  to  mind  at  all  the  thump 
and  the  thump  of  the  sea  swell.  The  thoughtful  and  pen- 
sive captain,  as  if  by  force  of  habit,  has  his  eye  mean- 
while upon  the  rigging  and  the  sky.  At  length  you 
venture  to  say:  "  Captain,  this  ship  seems  well  built." 
"Yes,  sir."  "Has  she  ever  been  around  the  world?' 
"Yes,  sir."  "More  than  once  ?  "  "This  will  be  her  tenth 
voyage."  "  Is  there  any  danger  in  doubling  Cape  Horn  ?  * 
"  Danger  !     You  will  find  out  when  you  double  it." 


PRIMITIVE   ORTHODOXY. 


59 


And  then  the  captain  is  tender  and  gentle,  and  says, 
"  My  friend,  we  always  dread  to  double  that  cape.  The 
seas  are  often  heavy  and  angry  and  dark,  but  you  need 
have  no  fear,  for  every  plank  and  every  yard  of  canvas, 
and  every  inch  of  cordage  in  this  ship  is  made  to  meet 
the  storms  encountered  while  doubling  that  cape."  My 
hearers,  you  are  to  take  passage  to-morrow  for  a  voyage 
around  the  world.     Which  shall  be  the  ship  ? 


CHAPTER  VI. 

STUDY    OF    THE    BIBLE. 

Address  by  Prof.  Drummond — Religion  Antecedent  to  the  Scrip- 
lures — A  Very  Human  Book — Rather  a  Library  than  a  Book — 
History  of  the  New  Testament — Evidence  of  the  Divine  Origin  of 
the  Bible — Instances  of  Growth  from  Circumstances — Paul  and 
the  Thessalonians — The  Gospel  of  Mark— Its  Purpose  and  its 
Double  Authorship — Humility  of  Peter. 

I  JUST  want  to  give  you  a  note  or  two,  pretty  much 
by  way  of  refreshing  your  memories,  about  the  Bible 
and  how  to  look  at  it. 

First :  The  Bible  came  otit  of  religion,  not  7'eligion  out  of 
the  Bible.  The  Bible  is  a  product  of  religion,  not  a  cause 
of  it.  The  wai  literature  of  America  which  culminated, 
I  suppose,  the  other  day  in  the  publication  of  President 
Grant's  life,  came  out  of  the  war ;  the  war  did  not  come 
out  of  the  literature.  And  so  in  the  distant  past,  there 
flowed  among  the  nations  of  heathendom  a  small,  warm 
stream,  like  the  Gulf  Stream  in  the  cold  Atlantic — a  small 
stream  of  religion  ;  and  now  and  then  at  intervals,  men, 
carried  along  by  this  stream,  uttered  themselves  in  words. 
The  historical  books  came  out  of  facts  ;  the  devotional 
books  came  out  of  experiences  ;  the  letters  came  out  of 
circumstances  ;  and  the  Gospels  came  out  of  all  three. 
That  is  where  the  Bible  came  from.  It  came  out  of  re- 
ligion ;  religion  did  not  come  out  of  the  Bible.  You  see 
the  difference.  The  religion  is  not,  then,  in  the  writing 
alone  ;  but  in  those  facts,  experiences,  circumstances,  in 
the  history  and  development  of  a  people  led  and  tauglit 
60 


STUDY   OF   THE   BIBLE.  6l 

by  God.  And  it  is  not  the  words  that  are  inspired,  so 
much  as  the  men. 

Secondly  :  These  men  were  authors  ;  they  were  not 
pens.  Their  individuality  comes  out  on  every  page  they 
wrote.  They  were  different  in  mental  and  literary  style  ; 
in  insight ;  and  even  the  same  writer  differs  at  different 
times.  II.  Thessalonians,  for  example,  is  considerably 
beneath  the  level  of  Romans,  and  III.  John  is  beneath 
the  level  of  I.  John.  A  man  is  not  always  at  his  best. 
These  writers  did  not  know  they  were  writing  a  Bible. 

Third  :  The  Bible  is  not  a  book  ;  it  is  ^  library.  It 
consists  of  sixty-six  books.  It  is  a  great  convenience, 
but  in  some  respects  a  great  misfortune,  that  these  books 
have  always  been  bound  up  together  and  given  out  as 
one  book  to  the  world,  when  they  are  not  ;  because  that 
has  led  to  endless  mistakes  in  theology  and  in  practical 
life. 

Fourth  :  These  books,  which  make  up  this  library, 
written  at  intervals  of  hundreds  of  years,  were  collected 
after  the  last  of  the  writers  was  dead — long  after — by 
human  hands.  Where  were  the  books  ?  Take  the  New 
Testament.  There  were  four  lives  of  Christ,  One  was 
in  Rom.e  ;  one  was  in  Southern  Italy  ;  one  was  in  Pales- 
tine ;  one  in  Asia  Minor.  There  were  twenty-one  let- 
ters. Five  were  in  Greece  and  Macedonia  ;  five  in  Asia  ; 
one  in  Rome.  The  rest  were  in  the  pockets  of  pri- 
vate individuals.  Theophilus  had  Acts.  They  were  col- 
lected undesignedly.  For  example,  the  letter  to  the 
Galatians  was  written  to  the  Church  in  Galatia.  Some- 
body would  make  a  copy  or  two,  and  put  it  into  the 
hands  of  the  members  of  the  different  churches,  and 
they  would  find  their  way  not  only  to  the  churches  in 
Galatia,  but  after  an  interval  to  nearly  all  the  churches. 
In  those  days  the  Christians  scattered  up  and  down 
through  the  world,  exchanged  copies  of  those  letters, 


62  A  COLLEGE  OF  COLLEGES. 

very  much  as  geologists  up  and  down  the  world  ex- 
change specimens  of  minerals  at  the  present  time,  or 
entomologists  exchange  specimens  of  butterflies.  And 
after  a  long  time  a  number  of  the  books  began  to  be 
pretty  well  known.  In  the  third  century  the  New  Tes- 
tament consisted  of  the  following  books  :  The  four  Gos- 
pels, Acts,  thirteen  letters  of  Paul,  ist  John,  ist  Peter ; 
and  in  addition,  the  Epistles  of  Barnabas  and  Hermas. 
This  was  not  called  the  New  Testament,  but  the  Chris- 
tian Library.  Then-  these  last  books  were  put  out. 
They  ceased  to  be  regarded  as  upon  the  same  level  as 
the  others.  In  the  fourth  century  the  canon  was  closed — 
that  is  to  say,  a  list  was  made  up  of  the  books  which 
were  to  be  regarded  as  canonical.  And  then  long  after 
that  they  were  stitched  together  and  made  up  into  one 
book— hundreds  of  years  after  that.  Who  made  up  the 
complete  list?  It  was  never  formally  made  up.  The 
bishops  of  the  different  churches  would  draw  up  a  list 
each  of  the  books  that  they  thought  ought  to  be  put 
into  this  Testament.  The  churches  also  would  give 
their  opinion.  Sometimes  councils  would  meet  and 
talk  it  over — discuss  it.  Scholars  like  Jerome  would 
investigate  the  authenticity  of  the  different  documents, 
and  there  came  to  be  a  general  consensus  of  the  churches 
on  the  matter.  But  no  formal  closing  of  the  canon  was 
ever  attempted. 

And  lastly  :  All  religions  have  their  sacred  books,  just 
as  the  Christians  have  theirs.  Why  is  it  necessary  to 
remind  ourselves  of  that  ?  If  you  ask  a  man  why  he  be- 
lieves such  and  such  a  thing,  he  will  tell  you,  because  it 
is  in  the  Bible.  If  you  ask  him,  "  How  do  you  know  the 
Bible  is  true  ? "  he  will  probably  reply,  "  Because  it  says 
so."  Now,  let  that  man  remember  that  the  sacred  books 
of  all  the  other  religions  make  the  same  claim  ;  and 
while  it  is  quite  enough  among  ourselves  to  talk  about 


STUDY   OF  THE   BIBLE.  63 

a  thing  being  true  because  it  is  in  the  Bible,  we  come 
in  contact  with  outsiders,  and  have  to  meet  the  skepti- 
cism of  the  day.  We  must  go  far  deeper  than  that.  The 
religious  books  of  the  other  religions  claim  to  be  far 
more  Divine  in  their  origin  than  do  ours.  For  example, 
the  Mohammedans  claim  for  the  Koran — a  large  section 
of  them  at  least — that  it  was  uncreated,  and  that  it  lay 
before  the  throne  of  God  from  the  beginning  of  time. 
They  claim  it  was  put  into  the  hands  of  the  angel  Ga- 
briel, who  brought  it  down  to  Mahomet,  and  dictated 
it  to  him,  and  allowed  him  at  long  intervals  to  have  a 
look  at  the  original  book  itself — bound  with  silk  and 
studded  with  precious  stones.  That  is  a  claim  of  much 
higher  Divinity  than  we  claim  for  our  book  ;  and  if  we 
simply  have  to  rely  upon  the  Bible's  testimony  to  its 
own  verity,  it  is  for  the  same  reason  the  Mohammedan 
would  have  you  believe  his  book,  and  the  Hindu  would 
have  you  put  your  trust  in  the  Ve'das.  That  is  why  our 
Bible  study  at  these  meetings  is  of  such  importance. 
We  can  get  to  the  bottom  of  truth  in  itself,  and  be  able 
to  give  a  reason  for  the  faith  that  is  in  us. 

Now,  may  I  give  you  before  I  stop,  just  a  couple  of 
examples  of  how  the  Bible  came  out  of  religion,  and  not 
religion  out  of  the  Bible.  Take  one  of  the  letters.  Just 
see  how  it  came  out  of  the  circumstances  of  the  time. 
The  first  of  the  letters  that  was  written  will  do  very  well 
as  an  example.  It  is  the  ist  Epistle  to  the  Thessaloni- 
ans.  In  the  year  52  Paul  went  to  Europe.  He  spent 
three  Sundays  in  Thessalonica,  created  a  great  disturb- 
ance by  his  preaching,  and  a  riot  sprang  up,  and  his  life 
was  in  danger.  He  was  smuggled  out  of  the  city  at 
night — not,  however,  before  having  founded  a  small 
church.  He  was  unable  to  go  back  to  Thessalonica, 
although  he  tried  it  two  or  three  times;  but  he  wrote 
a  letter.      That   is  the   first   letter    to    the   Thessalo- 


64  A    COLLEGE   OF  COLLEGES. 

nians.  You  see  how  it  sprang  out  pf  the  circum- 
stances of  the  time.  Take  a  second  example.  Let 
us  take  one  of  the  lives  of  Christ.  Suppose  you  take 
the  life  recorded  by  Mark.  Now,  from  internal  evi- 
dences you  can  make  out  quite  clearly  how  it  was 
written,  by  whom  it  was  written,  and  to  whom  it  was 
written.  You  understand  at  once  it  was  written  to  a 
Roman  public.  If  T  were  writing  a  letter  to  a  red  Indian 
I  would  make  it  very  different  from  a  letter  I  would 
write  to  a  European.  Now,  Mark  puts  in  a  number  of 
points  which  he  would  not  if  he  had  been  writing  to 
Greeks.  For  example,  Mark  almost  never  quotes  proph 
ecy.  The  Romans  did  not  know  anything  about 
prophecy.  Then,  he  gi\es  little  explanations  of  Jewish 
customs.  When  I  was  writing  home  the  other  day  I  had 
to  give  some  little  explanations  of  American  customs — 
for  example.  Commencement  Day.  When  Mark  writes 
to  Rome  about  things  happening  farther  East,  he  gives 
elaborate  explanations.  Again,  Mark  is  fond  of  Latin 
words — writing  to  the  Latins,  who  could  understand 
them.  He  talks  about  "  centurion,"  "■  praetorium,"  and 
others.  Then,  he  always  turns  Jewish  money  into  Ro- 
man money,  just  as  I  should  say  that  Mr.  Sankey's 
hymn-book,  if  I  were  writing  to  Europe  about  it,  costs 
two  shillings,  instead  of  fifty  cents.  Mark,  for  example, 
says,  ''  two  mites,  which  make  a  codrantes."  He  refers 
to  the  coins  which  the  Romans  knew.  In  these  ways 
we  find  out  that  the  Bible  came  out  of  the  circumstances 
and  the  places  and  the  times  in  which  it  was  written. 
Then  we  can  learn  where  Mark  got  his  information,  to  a 
large  extent.  I  v/ish  there  were  time  to  go  into  the 
details  of  that.  It  is  an  extremely  interesting  study.  I 
should  like  to  refer  you  to  Godet's  "  New  Testament 
Studies,"  where  you  will  get  this  worked  out.  Let  me 
just  indicate  to  you  how  these  sources  of  information 


STUDY    OF   THE   BIBLE.  6$ 

are  arrived  at — the  principal  sources  of  information. 
There  are  a  number  of  graphic  touches  in  the  book 
which  indicate  an  eye-witness.  Mark  himself  could  not 
have  been  the  eye-witness  ;  and  yet  there  are  a  number 
of  graphic  touches  which  show  that  he  got  his  account 
from  an  eye-witness.  You  will  find  them,  for  example, 
in  Mark,  iv.  38;  x.  50;  vi.  31;  vii.  34.  You  v/ill  find 
also  graphic  touches  indicating  an  ear-witness — as  if  the 
voice  lingered  in  the  mind  of  the  writer.  For  example, 
the  retention  of  Aramaic  in  v.  41;  and  in  vii.  34 — '^Ta/if/ia 
cumi;  Damsel,  I  say  unto  thee,  arise."  He  retained  the 
Aramaic  words  Christ  said,  as  I  would  say  in  Scotland, 
''My  wee  lassie,  rise  up."  The  very  words  lingered  in 
his  ear,  and  he  put  them  in  in  the  original.  Then  there 
are  occasional  phrases  indicating  the  moral  impression 
produced — v.  15  ;  x.  24  ;  x.  32.  Now,  Mark  himself 
was  not  either  the  eye-witness  or  ear-v/itness.  There  is 
internal  evidence  that  he  got  his  information  from  Peter. 
We  know  very  well  that  Mark  was  an  intimate  friend  of 
Peter's.  When  Peter  came  to  Mark's  house  in  Jerusalem, 
after  he  got  out  of  prison,  the  very  servant  knew  his 
voice,  so  that  he  must  have  been  well  known  in  the 
house.  Therefore  he  was  a  friend  of  Mark's.  The  color- 
ing and  notes  seem  to  be  derived  from  Peter.  There  is 
a  sense  of  wonder  and  admiration  which  you  find  all 
through  the  book,  very  like  Peter's  way  of  looking  at 
things — i.  27;  i.  2)Z\  i-  451  ii-  12;  v.  42;  and  a  great 
many  others.  But,  still  more  interesting;  Mark  quote 
the  words,  "Get  thee  behind  Me,  Satan,"  which  were 
said  to  Peter's  shame,  but  he  omits  the  preceding  words 
said  to  his  honor.  Peter  had  learned  to  be  humble 
v/hen  he  was  telling  Mark  about  it.  He  quotes  the 
words,  "Cret  thee  behind  Me,  Satan,"  but  omits  the 
preceding  words,  said  to  his  honor,  "  Thou  art  Peter.  On 
this  rock,"  and  so  on.     Compare  Mark  viii.  27-33,  with 


66  A   COLLEGE   OF   COLLEGES. 

Matthew's  account— xvi.  13-23.  Mark  also  omits  the 
fine  achievement  of  Peter — walking  on  the  lake.  When 
Peter  was  talking  to  Mark  he  never  said  anything  about 
it.  Compare  vi.  50  with  Matthew's  account — xiv.  28. 
And  Mark  alone  records  the  two  warnings  given  to 
Peter  by  the  two  cock-crowings,  making  his  fall  the  more 
inexcusable.  See  Mark  xiv.  30;  also  the  68th  verse  and 
the  7 2d.  Peter  did  not  write  the  book;  we  know  that, 
because  Peter's  style  is  entirely  different.  None  of  the 
four  Gospels  have  the  names  of  the  writers  attached  to 
them.  We  have  had  to  find  all  these  things  out.  But 
Mark's  Gospel  is  obviously  made  up  of  notes  from  Peter's 
evangelistic  addresses. 

So  you  see  from  these  simple  examples  how  human  a 
book  the  Bible  is,  and  how  the  Divinity  in  it  has  worked 
through  human  means.  The  Bible,  in  fact,  has  come 
out  of  religion;  not  religion  out  of  the  Bible. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

THE    INTER-BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

Address  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  John  A.  Broadus,  of  Kentucky — Value  of  a 
Neglected  Field  of  Study — Four  Periods  :  the  Persian,  the  Greek, 
the  Maccabaean,  and  the  Roman — Outlines  and  Characteristics  of 
Each — Literature  of  the  Jews — The  Jewish  Alexandrian  Philoso- 
phy— Did  the  Jews  Generally  Expect  a  Messiah  ? 

Christianity  is  an  historical  religion.  Even  the 
doctrinal  and  preceptive  portions  of  the  Bible  are  im- 
bedded in  history.  Nothing  can  be  understood  unless 
it  is  studied  historically.  And  this  is  strikingly  true  o£ 
Christianity.  The  inter-Biblical  history  is  important 
for  various  reasons.  It  helps  to  understand  the  con- 
dition of  the  Jews  in  New  Testament  times  —  theii 
political,  social,  and  religious  condition.  It  helps  to 
understand  the  origin  of  Christianity.  There  are  sev- 
eral erroneous  views  as  to  the  origin  of  Christianity. 
Some  have  held  that  it  is  a  mere  creation  of  human 
thought.  Tom  Paine's  vulgar  notion,  that  the  New  Tes- 
tament was  a  mere  imposture,  is  now  dead  and  buried. 
But  occasionally  some  writer  still  tries  to  maintain  that 
Christ  is  only  a  poetic  ideal  of  a  man  and  a  teacher. 
Many  hold  that  Christianity  is  a  mere  product  of  his- 
torical forces.  This  notion  prevails  among  rationalistic 
Jews  and  rationalistic  Christians.  Devout  people  among 
us  would  usually  call  it  an  exclusively  supernatural 
phenomenon.  Now,  it  is  the  inter-Biblical  history  that 
must  prepare  us  to  judge  among  these  different  views. 

(67) 


68  A   COLLEGE   OF  COLLEGES. 

And  we  shall  probably  find  that  each  is  really  true  in 
some  sense.  Christianity  is  supernatural  in  origin,  but 
it  is  also  in  a  just  sense  a  product  of  historical  forces — 
both  world-historical  and  Jewish-historical  ;  and  Chris- 
tianity does  meet  and  surpass  the  human  craving  for  an 
ideal  man  and  teacher.  The  inter-Biblical  history  also 
explains  the  connection  between  the  Old  and  New 
Testaments.  It  shows  that  the  history  of  Israel  is  one 
— from  Abraham  to  the  Promised  Seed  of  Abraham — 
all  one  grand  history  of  Providence  and  one  grand  his- 
tory of  Redemption.  [Among  the  ancient  sources  the 
general  reader  only  needs  to  have  the  Old  Testament 
Apocrypha  and  Josephus.  The  former  collection  is 
found  in  many  old  family  Bibles,  or  can  be  had  sep- 
arately in  Bagster's  edition  for  less  than  a  dollar.  Ask 
for  tlie  copy  that  contains  Fourth  Maccabees.  Of  re- 
cent works  on  the  subject  it  is  enough  to  mention  Fish- 
er's "  Beginnings  of  Christianity,/'  and  Redford's  "  Four 
Centuries  of  Silence" — neither  of  them  costly,  and  both 
very  readable.] 

The  inter-Biblical  history  must  be  divided  into  four 
periods,  (i).  The  Persian  period,  which  began  in  the 
Old  Testament  with  Cyrus  and  the  return  from  the  cap- 
tivity, extending  up  to  B.C.  331.  (2).  The  Greek 
period — B.C.  331-167.  (3).  The  Maccabaean  period — B.C. 
167-63.     (4).  The  Roman  period — B.C.  63  to  a.d.  70. 

I.  The  Persians  were  friendly  to  the  Jews  because  the 
latter  were  monotheists  like  themselves,  and  their  rule 
of  the  Jews  was  kindly.  To  this  period  refers  the  beau- 
tiful historical  romance  called  Tobit,  found  in  the  Old 
Testament  Apocrypha.  Whether  written  during  this 
period  or  later,  it  is  a  picture  of  Jewish  life  in  the  East 
during  the  Persian  time.  It  shows  the  wealth  of  the  Jews 
in  Mesopotamia;  gives  beautiful  pictures  of  their  domes- 
tic life,  their  pious  almsgiving  and  care  of  the  dead  ; 


THE   INTER-BIBLICAL  HISTORY.  69 

presents  remarkable  instances  of  answers  to  prayer; 
and  shows  the  beUef  of  the  Jews  as  to  angels  and  de- 
mons. 

2.  The  Greek  period  begins  with  Alexander — often 
called  the  Macedonian  madman,  but  really  a  scientific 
and  sagacious  statesman.  He  is  represented  by  Jose- 
phus  as  going  to  Jerusalem,  and,  when  met  by  the  high- 
priest  in  solemn  procession,  as  bowing  before  him  and 
declaring  that  this  very  person  had  appeared  to  him 
when  he  began  the  invasion  of  Asia  and  invited  him  to 
come.  The  story  has  great  verisimilitude.  Alexander 
might  easily  have  had  such  a  vision,  or  he  might  readily 
have  pretended  to  have  had  it  for  effect.  Either  would 
suit  exactly  his  character  and  diplomatic  conduct.  Alex- 
ander's relation  to  Christianity  is  highly  important.  He 
united  Asia  and  Europe.  When  Jesus  said,  "Go,  disciple 
all  nations,"  this  audacious  command  was  humanly  pos- 
sible of  fulfilment  because  of  what  Alexander  had  done. 
Greek  civilization  had  broken  up  the  fixedness  of  West- 
ern Asiatic  civilization  ;  very  much  like  what  is  happen- 
ing in  Hindostan  and  Japan  at  the  present  day.  The 
Greek  language  was  widely  diffused  by  Alexander  and 
his  successors — a  language  unrivalled  in  exactness,  flex- 
ibility, and  adaptation  to  all  uses.  As  employed  by  the 
Jews  it  received  a  Hebrew  tinge  which  appears  in  the 
Septuagint  and  the  New  Testament,  which  adapts  it 
better  to  the  expression  of  Christian  ideas  than  the  Attic 
dialect  itself  would  have  been.  Among  the  successors 
of  Alexander  the  Jews  were  interested  only  in  the  Ptole- 
mies of  Egypt,  and  the  Seleucid  kings  of  Assyria  with 
their  capital  at  Antioch.  Under  the  Ptolemies  the  Old 
Testament  was  translated  into  Greek — a  translation 
called  Septuagint,  from  the  Jewish  story  that  it  was 
made  by  seventy  translators.  This  is  the  form  in  which 
the  Old  Testament  has  always  been  used  among  Greek 


70  A  COLLEGE   OF  COLLEGES. 

Christians  to  the  present  day,  and  it  is  highly  valued 
by  recent  Old  Testament  scholarship.  During  this  period 
appeared  in  Palestine  a  remarkable  Jewish  book  called 
"The  Wisdom  of  Jesus  the  Son  of  Sirach,"  and  com- 
monly known  in  the  Old  Testament  Apocrypha  as  "  Ec- 
clesiasticus  "  (abbrev.  "  Ecclus.").  It  was  written  between 
198  and  167,  and  translated  into  Greek  in  Egypt.  It  is 
full  of  shrewd  and  suggestive  sayings  as  to  how  a  man 
may  get  on  in  life,  and  shows  great  enthusiasm  for  the 
history  of  Israel  ;  but  it  contains  no  clear  references  to 
a  future  life,  and  nothing  about  the  hope  of  a  Messiah. 
This  period  ends  with  the  great  persecution  of  the  Jews 
by  Antiochus  Epiphanes.  The  real  design  of  this  was 
not  religious,  but  political.  He  wished  to  unify  the  nu- 
merous peoples  in  his  dominion  by  inducing  them  to 
adopt  his  own  religion,  language,  and  customs — an  at- 
tempt very  much  like  that  of  Russia  in  Poland,  or  Aus- 
tria in  Hungary.  When  he  began  the  persecution,  he 
had  recently  been  cruelly  snubbed  by  a  Roman  consul, 
who  met  him  in  Egypt  and  turned  back  his  conquering 
army  from  the  approach  to  Alexandria. 

3.  The  Maccabaean  period  introduces  to  us  the  most 
charming  historical  narrative  among  the  Old  Testament 
Apocrypha,  namely,  First  Maccabees.  It  is  very  curious 
to  compare  with  this  beautiful  Hebrew  work  the  rewrit- 
ing of  it  by  Josephus  into  an  elaborate  Greek  style. 
Here  also  we  meet  Judas  Maccabaeus,  one  of  the  chief 
heroes  of  Hebrew  history — a  man  of  splendid  military 
talents  and  noble  piety.  The  conflict  between  the  hand- 
ful of  Jews  and  the  great  Syrian-Greek  kingdom  seems 
insignificant  in  its  numbers  and  the  narrowness  of  its 
field  ;  but  it  was  really  a  conflict  between  the  true  and 
!alse  religion,  and  the  destinies  of  the  world  were  in  an 
important  sense  involved  therein.  The  Jews  were  helped 
by  many  circumstances  :  especially  by  a  disputed  sue- 


THE  INTER-BIBLICAL  HISTORY.  7 1 

cession  which  arose  after  the  death  of  Antiochus  Epiph- 
anes,  and  made  their  support  important  to  the  rival 
claimants.  After  thirty  years  of  struggle  their  inde- 
pendence was  established  under  John  Hyrcanus.  His 
rule  as  high-priest  is  looked  back  to  by  all  Jews  as  a 
glorious  period.  But  there  were  seeds  of  decay  which 
we  may  now  discern  even  in  that  glorious  time.  The 
government  was  despotic,  and  supported  by  mercena- 
ries. A  people  who  cannot  do  their  own  fighting  will 
not  long  maintain  national  greatness.  There  were  fierce 
conflicts  of  unscrupulous  parties,  afterward  called  Phar- 
isees and  Sadducees,  and  which  were  much  more  thor- 
oughly political  parties  than  religious  sects,  the  tenden- 
cies being  combined.  This  period  ends  with  the  coming 
of  Pompey  to  Jerusalem  to  settle  the  succession  between 
two  descendants  of  John  Hyrcanus. 

4.  In  the  Roman  period  we  find  the  Jews  touched  by 
the  Roman  civil  v/ars.  Crassus  came  to  Jerusalem  and 
robbed  the  Temple,  it  being  so  rich  and  he  being  greatly 
in  want  of  money.  Julius  Caesar  was  in  sore  trouble  at 
Alexandria,  and  helped  by  the  Jewish  forces.  After- 
ward Cassius,  Antony,  and  Octavius  all  came  more  or 
less  into  relation  with  the  Jews.  Here  arose  another 
great  historical  figure,  namely,  Herod.  The  conflicts 
between  rival  claimants  made  it  possible  that  this  Idu- 
mean  should  render  himself  important,  and  finally  in- 
duce the  Roman  Senate  to  declare  him  king  of  the  Jews. 
Herod  was  a  man  of  prodigious  talents,  who  managed 
Antony  and  the  Senate,  escaped  the  wiles  of  Cleopatra, 
won  over  Octavius,  pleased  the  Greeks,  and  got  on  some- 
how with  the  Jews.  In  his  domestic  relations  he  was 
much  sinning  and  much  sinned  against ;  and  his  trouble 
with  the  beautiful  Mariamne,  his  wife,  was  augmented 
by  the  intrigues  of  her  mother — an  aggravated  case  of 


72  A   COLLEGE   OF  COLLEGES. 

mother-in-law.  [Read  Josephus'  account  of  Herod  in 
the  Antiquities,  Book  15  to  Book  17,  chapter  8.] 

In  conchision,  notice  two  related  subjects.  First,  the 
Jewish  Alexandrian  philosophy.  When  the  keen  and 
powerful  minds  of  the  Jews  gained  the  leisure  which 
wealth  gives,  some  of  them  took  great  interest  in  Greek 
literature,  including  philosophy,  attaching  themselves 
to  one  or  another  of  the  great  Greek  schools.  Here  be- 
longs the  so-called  "Wisdom  of  Solomon,"  which  must 
be  carefully  distinguished  from  the  book  previously 
mentioned — the  "  Wisdom  of  the  Son  of  Sirach."  That 
was  written  in  Palestine  ;  while  the  "Wisdom  of  Solo- 
mon "  is  an  Alexandrian  book,  which  combines  Greek 
philosophy,  especially  that  of  Plato,  with  Jewish  ideas, 
and  is  written  in  an  over-wrought  but  really  beautiful 
style.  This  is  found  among  the  Old  Testament  Apoc- 
rypha, and  the  first  nine  chapters  are  especially  admi- 
rable. When  speaking  of  the  great  Philo,  the  last  and 
most  important  of  these  philosophical  writers,  we  should 
mention  the  so-called  "Fourth  Maccabees" — a  sort  of 
sermon  in  which  the  writer  glorifies  Stoic  philosophy, 
and  at  the  same  time  the  Old  Testament,  by  showing 
how  the  law  of  Moses  may  enable  a  man  to  carry 
out  tlie  great  Stoic  saying  that  reason  must  be  lord  of 
the  passions.  It  is  a  very  curious  and  interesting  little 
book. 

The  other  topic  is,  the  Jewish  expectations  concerning 
the  Messiah  at  the  time  He  came.  The  best  book  on  the 
subject  is  Drummond  on  "The  Messianic  Idea  among 
the  Jews" — London,  1877.  The  ancient  sources  are  sev- 
eral Jewish  writings  of  uncertain  date,  and  most  of  them 
interpolated  long  after  the  Christian  era.  The  genuine 
and  clearly  pre-Christian  statements  concerning  the 
Messiah  are  merely  a  repetition  or  explanation  of  those 
In    the    Prophets.      Some    statements    in    the  so-called 


THE  INTER-BIBLICAL  HISTORY.  73 

'Book  of  Enoch"  would  seem  a  real  advance  toward 
the  views  of  the  New  Testament ;  but  those  portions  of 
"Enoch"  are  almost  certainly  post-Christian.  A  large 
proportion,  and  probably  the  great  majority,  of  the 
Jews  at  this  time  cherished  no  Messianic  expectations 
whatever,  as  was  the  case,  for  example,  with  Josephus, 
who  pretended  that  the  Messianic  prophecies  were  ful- 
filled in  Vespasian.  Those  who  did  cherish  Messianic 
expectations  had  unclear  and  shifting  conceptions  ;  and 
the  great  characteristics  of  the  actual  teachings  and  life 
of  Jesus  Christ  are  utterly  wanting  in  these  Jewish  writ- 
ings— namely,  spirituality,  self-renunciation,  Messiah's 
suffering  and  atoning  death,  and  His  resurrection  and 
future  spiritual  reign. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

OUTLINE    OF    THE    LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

Address  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Broadus — Harmonies  of  the  Gospels — 
Intancy  of  Jesus — His  Childhood  and  Youth — Retirement  and 
Preparation— Six  Periods  of  His  Public  Ministry — Long  Tours 
and  Incessant  Activity — Reasons  for  Plis  Circuitous  Movements — 
Helps  to  Study  Recommended. 

The  four  Gospels  are  independent  works.  Each  of 
them  is  a  complete  whole.  Beware  of  superseding  the 
text  as  we  find  it  with  harmonies.  We  must  study  those 
Gospels  each  in  itself,  and  then  mentally  combine  the 
impressions.  Once  in  Mr.  Story's  studio  in  Rome  some 
visitors  asked  him  if  he  could  make  a  bust  of  their  father 
from  photographs  without  seeing  him.  "Yes,"  he  said, 
"with  some  difficulty,  after  a  fashion.  But  you  must 
let  me  have  photographs  of  heads  and  busts  from  every 
point  of  view."  If  you  take  all  the  pictures  of  Christ 
in  the  Bible — by  prophets,  evangelists,  apostles,  and  in 
the  book  of  Revelation — you  will  get  a  far  better  con- 
ception of  Him  than  if  you  had  only  one  writer. 

Why,  then,  should  we  attempt  a  harmony  of  the  Gos- 
pels or  a  life  of  Christ  at  all  ?  i.  Because  we  naturally 
wish  to  get  a  geneial  historical  outline  of  the  life  of 
Christ.  We  do  not  want  to  have  merely  vague  and  con- 
fused recollections  derived  from  the  different  Gospels. 
2.  To  explain  discrepancies.  Everybody  notices,  when 
he  comes  to  compare  the  Gospels,  apparent  contradic- 
tions. A  few  years  ago  there  was  a  school  of  German 
writers  Vv^ho  lived  on  the  discrepancies  of  the  Gospels. 
Trial  by  jury  was  not  introduced  in  Germany  till  after 
(74) 


OUTLINE   OF   THE   LIFE   OF  CHRIST.  75 

the  revolution  of  1848.  Had  these  writers  been  in  the 
habit  of  judging  different  accounts  of  the  same  series 
of  events,  as  every  one  is  in  this  countr}^,  they  would 
have  seen  that  discrepancies  are  not  only  inevitable,  but 
that  they  are  positively  necessary  to  authenticate  any 
account.  If  four  different  witnesses  should  tell  exactly 
the  same  story  in  all  particulars,  I  wouldn't  believe  any 
of  them — I  would  think  they  had  put  their  heads  to- 
gether, or  had  been  taught  a  lesson.  It  is  necessary  for 
belief  in  four  different  accounts  of  a  long  series  of 
events,  that  there  should  be  some  things  that  at  first 
don't  seem  to  agree.  Of  course,  if  those  discrepancies 
could  be  shown  to  be  hopeless,  downright,  inexplicable 
contradictions,  it  would  be  another  thing.  But  many 
things  that  at  first  were  hard  to  explain,  have  been  ex- 
plained. Many  apparent  conflicts  between  one  part  of 
the  Bible  and  another,  that  puzzled  me  during  my  early 
studies,  have  been  cleared  up  while  my  hair  is  growing 
gray.  Certain  difficulties  were  the  whole  stock  in  trade 
of  a  large  section  of  critical  objectors  fifty  years  ago, 
which  you  will  scarcely  ever  hear  a  word  about  now. 
As  to  discrepancies,  let  me  make  a  remark.  I  am  not 
bound  to  show  that  my  theory  of  explanation  is  the  only 
right  one.  There  may  be  several  ways  of  explaining  a 
difficulty.  If  I  prefer  one  way,  I  have  no  call  to  attack 
another.  It  is  enough  that  one  is  reasonable.  3.  We 
naturally  wish,  in  the  practical  use  of  the  Gospels,  to 
combine  all  the  material  in  regard  to  any  particular 
scene  or  discourse  in  the  life  of  Jesus.  If  you  take  up 
some  scene  and  read  all  the  accounts,  and  put  them  to- 
gether so  as  to  get  the  whole  effect,  you  are  so  far  mak- 
ing a  harmony  of  the  Gospels.  It  is,  therefore,  con- 
venient and  desirable  that  this  work  should  be  done 
throughout.  We  must,  however,  expect  difficulties  in 
various  points.     We  must  learn  to  distinguish  between 


^6  A  COLLEGE   OF  COLLEGES. 

things  where  we  can  be  certain,  and  things  where  we 
cannot  be  certain.  Some  points  are  certain  ;  others  are 
more  or  less  probable.  Two  books  I  would  recommend 
are:  ist.  Robinson's  **  Harmony,"  either  in  English  or 
Greek,  Riddle's  new  edition,  Hartford  ;  2d.  G.  W.  Clark's 
**  Harmony,"  which  is  better  at  some  points.  Where  you 
find  these  agree,  you  can  be  pretty  confident  they  are 
right ;  where  they  differ,  there  is  room  for  difference. 

Q.  Have  you  examined  "The  Four  Gospels  in  One"  ? 

Dr.  Broadus — There  are  several  books  of  that  kind. 
One  time  in  my  life  I  was  very  fond  of  them.  But  the 
trouble  is,  they  sink  the  individuality  of  the  several 
Gospels  —  the  different  stand-points  and  the  different 
tone.  I  think  it  is  a  great  deal  better  to  have  the  ex- 
tracts complete,  and  compare  them  yourself.  Thus  you 
will  see  the  difference  and  the  connection  in  each  case. 
I  should,  therefore,  upon  the  whole,  not  advise  the  use 
of  books  of  that  sort.  The  other  way  is  more  trouble, 
but  you  get  better  results,  and  you  don't  think  you  know 
so  much,  which  is  one  great  point. 

[The  lecturer  used  a  wall-map  of  Palestine  to  illustrate 
the  geography  of  the  life  of  Christ,  and  proceeded  to 
speak  of  its  chronology.]  The  time  of  our  Saviour's 
birth  was  certainly  in  the  fifth  year  before  the  ordinary 
annus  Domini^  which  was  fixed  in  the  fifth  or  sixth  cen- 
tury by  error.  Herod  died  in  the  spring  of  750,  as  is 
shown  by  Josephus's  reference  to  an  eclipse  of  the  moon 
that  occurred  near  the  time  of  his  death,  and  astronomy 
shows  which  year  that  was.  So  the  birth  of  Christ  must 
have  been  in  the  year  749=3.0.  5.  The  anrius  Domini 
rannot  be  changed  as  a  chronological  error  now.  We 
can  only  say  it  was  a  mistake,  and  that  the  birth  of 
Christ  was  five  years  earlier — possibly  a  little  more,  but 
certainly  that  much. 

Luke  says  that  Jesus  was  about  thirty  years  old  when 


OUTLINE   OF  THE    LIFE   OF   CHRIST.  ^J 

He  began  His  ministry.  According  to  that  He  began 
A7mo  Do7uini  26.  Now,  His  ministry  lasted  three  years 
and  a  fraction,  so  far  as  we  know,  provided  the  feast  of 
John  V.  I  v/as  a  Passover,  which  it  probably  was.  Other 
wise  we  should  only  know  of  its  lasting  two  years  and  a 
fraction — if  that  feast  be  not  taken  as  a  Passover.  If 
you  say  the  ministry  was  three  years  and  a  fraction, 
then  it  began  at  or  in  the  latter  part  of  a.d.  26,  and 
ended  at  the  Passover  of  ad.  30— in  the  spring  of  that 
year,  about  our  Easter. 

Now,  let  us  take  up  the  leading  periods  in  the  life  of 
our  Lord.  The  first  began  with  the  birth  and  childhood 
of  Jesus.  You  find  introductory  matter  in  each  of  the 
Gospels.  Matthew  begins  with  a  genealogy  reaching 
back  to  Abraham,  and  Luke  with  one  reaching  back  to 
Adam.  John  goes  back  to  eternity.  Mark  plunges  in 
medias  res.  The  introductory  matter  of  Luke  includes 
the  annunciation,  and  the  story  of  the  birth  of  John  and 
the  birth  of  Jesus.  By  the  wa}^,  the  saying  of  Simeon  is 
by  most  people  incorrectly  understood.  It  was  not, 
"Now,  do  Thou  let  Thy  servant  depart  in  peace";  but, 
"Now,  Thou  lettest" — a  recognition  of  the  fact  that 
now  the  event  had  come  which  the  Lord  had  let  him 
live  to  see.  Then  you  have  th^^  story  of  the  Magi,  and 
of  the  flight  into  Egypt.  I  remember  an  illustration  here. 
During  the  war,  when  the  United  States  troops  took 
possession  of  Beaufort,  S.  C,  a  great  many  wealthy 
families  were  living  there  temporarily.  I  heard  as  time 
went  on  that  some  of  them  had  to  part  with  their  family 
Jewels  to  get  the  plainest  food,  as  was  natural  under  the 
circumstances.  The  gifts  of  the  Magi  were  a  means  of 
support  to  Joseph  and  his  family  in  Egypt.  We  cannot 
conceive  of  the  difficulty  that  must  have  been  experienced 
by  a  little  family  in  leaving  home  and  going  into  another 
country  and  there  trying  to  find  something  to  do.   Those 


78  A   COLLEGE   OF   COLLEGES. 

gifts  may  fairly  be  regarded  as  a  Providential  means  of 
support.  Then  we  come  to  the  massacre  of  about  five 
hundred  little  boys  in  Bethlehem,  and  the  return  of 
Joseph  and  his  family  northward  from  Jerusalem. 

Where  is  Nazareth  ?  Take  a  pear  and  slit  it  length- 
wise, leaving  a  crooked  stem.  In  the  lower  half  of  that 
pear  you  have  exactly  the  shape  of  the  valley  of  Naza* 
reth.  From  the  high  western  mountains  the  growing 
youth  could  have  gained  extensive  views  in  all  direc- 
tions. To  the  south  were  the  mountains  of  Ebal  and 
Gerizim.  On  the  east  He  could  see  the  mountains  be- 
yond the  Jordan.  On  the  west  lay  the  grand  Mediter- 
ranean— very  blue  and  beautiful.  On  the  north  appeared 
the  snow-clad  range  of  Herm.on. 

I  divide  the  public  ministry  of  Jesus  into  six  parts. 
We  pass  the  quiet  years  of  preparation,  concerning 
which  little  is  known,  though  much  has  been  conjec- 
tured. Compare  the  apocryphal  gospels  and  the  silly 
stories  that  have  gathered  in  connection  with  them,  with 
the  inspired  narrative,  and  then  see  the  grand  simplicity 
of  the  Gospels  themselves.  The  Jews  had  a  foolish 
notion  that  a  man  was  not  grown  until  he  was  thirty — I 
don't  dare  to  say  that  I  sometimes  think  they  were 
right.  At  all  events  the  Deliverer  of  mankind  was  ac- 
tually in  the  world,  living  retired,  and  never  appeared 
till  He  was  thirty  years  of  age,  although  He  foreknew 
that  He  v/as  so  soon  to  die.  How  we  ought  to  be  thrilled 
with  the  thought  that  the  Saviour  lived  and  died  a 
3^oung  man  !  Though  He  knew  His  public  career  would 
be  but  a  brief  three  years,  still  He  lived  on  quietly  pre- 
pci/ing,  and  still  He  waited  while  John  the  Baptist  v/as 
preparing  too.     These  are  the  six  divisions  : 

I.  The  Introduction  of  our  Lord's  m.inistry  :  the  work 
of  John  the  Baptist,  the  baptism  of  Christ  and  His 
temptation.     The  localities  of  these  events  are  not  cer- 


OUTLINE   OF  THE   LIFE   OF  CHRIST.  79 

tainly  known.  Here  occurs  John's  testimony  to  Jesus  in 
the  Fourth  Gospel,  in  consequence  of  which  Jesus  gains 
a  few  disciples,  with  whom  He  goes  to  the  wedding  at 
Cana,  and  then  to  Capernaum,  which  becomes  the  prin- 
cipal home  of  His  public  ministry. 

2.  The  early  ministry  of  Jesus,  which  is  described  in 
the  Fourth  Gospel  alone,  and  lasted  several  months — 
perhaps  eight  months.  Jesus  visits  the  Passover  and 
expels  the  traders,  holds  the  conversation  with  Nicode- 
mus,  and  afterward  labors  long  and  successfully  some- 
where in  Judea,  until  at  length  He  makes  and  baptizes 
some  disciples.  John  hears  of  this,  and  expresses  his 
satistaction.  The  Pharisees  hear  of  it ;  and  to  prevent 
a  premature  excitement  of  their  hostility,  Jesus  leaves 
Judea  for  Galilee.  Meantime  John  is  imprisoned — Jo- 
sephus  says  at  Macherus,  which  was  a  few  miles  east  of 
the  northern  end  of  the  Dead  Sea,  and  of  which  the 
ruins  have  lately  been  for  the  first  time  fully  described 
by  the  English  traveller,  Tristram,  in  his  "  Land  of 
Moab."  On  our  Lord's  way  to  Galilee  He  stopped  at 
Jacob's  well,  where  occurred  his  conversation  with  the 
woman,  which  is  a  model  of  skill  and  felicity  in  the  in- 
troduction of  religion  into  ordinary  conversation. 

3.  The  great  ministry  in  Galilee.  This  is  described  in 
Matthew,  Mark,  and  Luke.  John  touches  it  only  at  one 
point :  The  feeding  of  the  five  thousand.  This  probably 
lasted  about  eighteen  months — that  is,  if  the  feast  in 
John  v.  I  was  a  Passover.  Our  Lord's  headquarters 
were  at  Capernaum.  During  this  time  He  made  three 
journeys  around  Galilee,  which  Josephus  says  contained 
over  two  hundred  cities  and  large  villages.  Our  Lord's 
labors  must  have  been  far  miore  extensive  than  we  should 
imagine  from  the  few  specimens  of  His  miracles  and 
discourses  that  are  expressly  reported.  This  is  shown 
by  the  general  statements  in  Matthew  iv.  23  and  ix.  35, 


So  A   COLLEGE   OF  COLLEGES. 

which  are  in  strong  language.  During  this  time  He  se- 
lected the  twelve  disciples,  and  gave  the  Sermon  on  tlie 
Mount  as  a  sort  of  opening  lecture  in  their  theological 
training.  Toward  the  close  of  this  period  He  sent  them 
out  two  by  two  to  go  before  Him  ;  and  after  their  return 
continued  His  instructions  throughout  His  ministry, 
slowly  preparing  them  for  their  work.  The  first  great 
group  of  parables  belong  to  this  period — found  in  Mat- 
thew xiii.  and  Mark  iv. — and  they  treat  of  the  Kingdom 
of  God  in  its  beginnings. 

4.  Excursions  made  by  Jesus  from  Galilee  occupying 
six  months,  and  described  by  Matthew,  Mark,  and  Luke. 
We  can  see  several  reasons  for  His  leaving  Galilee  at 
this  period.  Herod  Antipas,  the  tetrarch,  had  taken  up 
the  notion  that  Jesus  was  John  the  Baptist  risen  from 
the  dead,  and  would  be  uneasy  about  Him  ;  and  so 
Jesus  keeps  out  of  his  dominion.  The  masses  of  the 
people  were  becoming  fanatical,  thinking  that  He  must 
be  the  Messiah,  and  would  gather  armies  and  destroy 
the  Romans.  The  Jewish  rulers  were  ready  to  use  all 
this  against  Him  with  the  Roman  authorities.  Our 
Lord  often  had  to  withdraw  from  the  excitement  pro- 
duced by  His  ministry,  because  the  popular  interest, 
which  was  more  |~olitical  than  religious,  threatened  to 
precipitate  a  crisis  and  end  His  ministry  before  He  had 
finished  His  work  for  the  people  and  the  instruction  of 
the  twelve.  We  may  also  notice  that  this  was  summer, 
and  in  every  one  of  the  four  excursions  Jesus  went  to  a 
mountain  region.  Capernaum  was  far  below  the  Med- 
iterranean, with  tropical  products,  and  there  was  an 
obvious  propriety  in  getting  to  the  mountains.  He  first 
we  :t  across  the  lake  ;  but  the  multitude  folio-wed  Him, 
amounting  to  five  thousand,  and  thus  retirement  had  to 
be  abandoned.  The  second  excursion  was  to  Tyre  ;  but 
a  Syrophenician  mother  found  Him  out.     In  the  third 


OUTLINE   OF   THE    LIFE    OF   CHRIST.  8\ 

excursion  He  went  northward  through  Sidon,  and  away 
north  to  Galilee  and  around  into  Decapolis,  northeast 
of  the  lake.  There  again  the  multitude  gathered,  and 
He  fed  the  four  thousand.  Then  the  fourth  excursion 
was  northeastward,  to  the  neighborhood  of  Cesarea 
Philippi,  He  staj^ed  here  some  time,  giving  much  in- 
struction to  the  twelve  ;  and  here  occurred  the  Trans- 
figuration,  which  was  probably  en  some  mountain  of  the 
Lebanon  range. 

[Mr.  Moody — Make  it  Mount  Hermon  ] 

5.  The  later  ministry  in  Judea,  and  ministry  in  Perea. 
This  occupied  six  months.  It  is  described  in  Luke  ix. 
51  to  xix.  27,  and  in  John  vii.  to  x.  This  is  much  bet- 
ter arranged  in  Clark's  Harmony  than  in  Robinson's. 
We  have  only  to  understand  that  events  and  discourses 
here  given  in  Luke,  similar  to  preceding  ones  in  Galilee, 
were  repetitions  such  as  would  be  very  natural  in  an- 
other part  of  the  country.  No  one  can  properly  under- 
stand the  teachings  of  Jesus  who  has  not  had  some  ex- 
perience as  a  public  religious  teacher  himself — a  field- 
preacher,  a  street-preacher.  The  mere  professor,  who 
never  did  any  practical  preaching,  v/ill  constantly  mis- 
judge as  to  points  of  this  kind.  To  this  period  belongs 
the  second  great  group  of  parables,  given  only  in  Luke, 
and  referring  chiefly  to  the  life  of  individuals. 

6.  The  last  week  in  Jerusalem,  and  the  crucifixion. 
Our  Lord  has  long  kept  away  from  the  hostility  of  the 
Jewish  authorities  until  His  ministry  should  be  ended. 
But  now  His  hour  is  come,  and  He  goes  straight  for- 
ward to  the  end.  He  seems  to  have  spent  every  night 
at  Bethany,  and  in  the  daytime  to  have  taught  in  the 
courts  of  the  Temple  for  several  days.  Here  occurs 
the  third  great  group  of  parables,  Vv-hich  refer  again  to 
the  Kingdom  of  God  in  its  future  prospects  Of  course 
this  period  ends  with  the  last  day  of  our  Lord's  passion, 

4* 


82  A  COLLEGE   OF  COLLEGES. 

with  the  Lord's  supper  and  farewell  discourses,  with 
Getlisemane  and  Calvary.  It  may  with  confidence  be 
said  that  we  have  of  late  years  found  the  true  site  of 
Calvary — on  the  northern  extension  of  the  Temple  hill. 
This  view  was  adopted  by  Chinese  Gordon,  and  is  held 
by  Principal  Dawson,  and  by  the  Rev.  Selah  Merrill,  of 
New  England,  recently  United  States  Consul  at  Jerusa- 
lem.    Very  probably  it  is  correct. 

The  concluding  period  of  our  Lord's  life  embraces 
His  resurrection.  His  ten  appearances  during  the  forty 
days,  and  His  ascension.  More  attention  ought  to  be 
given  in  our  religious  thought  and  discourse  to  the 
resurrection  of  Christ  as  the  central  pillar  of  Christian 
evidence,  and  an  important  item  of  Christian  doctrine. 
Books  on  this  subject  to  be  recommended,  are  :  Milli- 
gan's  "Lectures  on  the  Resurrection  of  our  Lord"; 
Westcott's  "The  Gospel  of  the  Resurrection";  another 
work  by  the  same  writer,  "  Revelation  of  the  Risen 
Lord,"  which  treats  of  the  ten  appearances  ;  Canon 
Liddon's  "Easter  Sermons"  (two  small  volumes)  ;  and 
Candlish's  "  Life  in  a  Risen  Saviour,"  being  lectures  on 
the  15th  chapter  of  ist  Corinthians.  These  are  all  Eng- 
lish works  ;  all,  or  nearly  ail,  are  reprinted  in  this  coun« 
try,  and  they  are  not  costly. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

THE    EPISTLE    TO    THE    HEBREWS. 

Address  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Broadus — Key- Note  of  the  Book — The 
Hebrew  Christians  Tempted  to  Relapse  into  Judaism — Reasons 
for  Perseverance  in  the  New  Faith — Jewish  Arguments  Reversed — 
The  Son  of  God  Superior  to  Angels,  to  Moses,  and  to  the  Levit- 
ical  Priesthood — Dignity  of  the  Messiah. 

I  WISH  to  speak  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews.  My 
object  is  to  come  as  near  as  I  can  to  giving  an  off-hand 
specimen  of  the  treatment  of  a  Bible  book  as  a  whole. 
The  Epistle  was  written  before  the  destruction  of  Jeru- 
salem, from  Italy,  to  the  Christian  Hebrews.  You  know 
there  has  long  been  a  dispute  as  to  whether  it  was  writ- 
ten by  Paul  or  not.  I  shall  not  go  into  that,  except  to 
say  that  I  think  the  strong  probability  is,  it  was  v/ritten 
by  Paul.  This  Epistle  is  mentioned  in  the  very  earliest 
Christian  v/riting  in  existence — the  Epistles  of  Clement, 
in  which  it  is  repeatedly  quoted.  I  don't  think  there 
would  ever  have  been  any  doubt  it  was  written  ]Dy 
Paul,  except  for  the  fact  that  the  Alexandrian  critics, 
who  were  very  particular  about  Greek,  sav/  in  it  certain 
differences  of  style  from  the  other  of  Paul's  Epistles. 
But  what  if  there  are  differences  of  style  ?  That  is  ex- 
actly like  Paul.  I  am  inclined  to  think  the  most  prob- 
able opinion  is  that  v*rhich  was  advanced  by  Origen,  the 
greatest  of  early  scholars  and  critics,  and  which  he  de- 
rived from  his  teacher,  Clement  of  Alexandria— that  il 
was  really  a  discourse  which  Paul  delivered,  and  which 
was  reported  by  some  one  else.  Christ's  discourses  were 
reported.     The  discourses  in  the  Book  of  Acts  were  re- 

(33) 


84  A   COLLEGE   OF  COLLEGES. 

ported  by  Luke.  There  is  nothing  incredible  about  the 
hypothesis,  and  it  meets  every  point  of  the  enigma,  how 
the  book  could  contain  so  much  that  was  like  Paul,  and 
yet  in  a  style  so  much  unlike  Paul. 

But  I  wish  to  speak  of  the  contents  of  this  wonderrui 
I-^pistle.  It  is  remarkable,  probably,  as  no  other  for  its 
absolute  unity.  One  idea  runs  all  through  this  Epistle. 
There  are  not  more  than  two  or  three  sentences  in  it 
that  you  can  interpret  without  taking  account  of  that 
one  idea.  Now,  there  are  several  Epistles  in  which  there 
is  a  manifest  key-note.  If  you  study  Philippians  you 
will  find  that  ''joy"  is  the  key-note  ;  if  you  study  Col&»- 
sians,  it  is  ''complete  in  Christ";  and  in  Ephesians, 
"one  in  Christ";  and  so  in  Galatians  and  P^omans,  ''jus- 
tification by  faith";  etc.  But  here  there  is  more  than  a 
key-note.  One  idea  runs  right  through  it,  and  that  idea 
is  to  restrain  the  Hebrew  Christians  from  abandoning 
Christianity.  "  Let  us  hold  fast  our  profession."  That 
is  the  object — to  restrain  the  Hebrew  Christians  ad- 
dressed from  abandoning  Christianity.  "  Let  us  hold 
fast  our  profession."  "  Let  us  hold  fast  the  profes- 
sion of  our  hope  without  wavering."  "  Let  us  hold 
on."  "  Let  us  hold  on  to  our  faith  in  Christianity." 
That  is  the  practical  lesson  in  everything  in  this  Epis- 
tle, and  its  arguments  are  brought  to  bear  upon  that 
design. 

"  Don't  give  up  Christianity."  The  Hebrew  Christians 
addressed  had  been  much  persecuted.  They  had  not 
yet  suffered  bloodshed  ;  but  they  had  taken  joyfully  the 
spoiling  of  their  goods.  However,  some  of  them  had 
got  into  the  way  of  forsaking  the  assembling  of  them- 
selves together.  It  was  the  manner  of  some  not  to  go 
to  their  religious  meetings,  because  that  might  become 
an  occasion  of  further  persecution.  But  besides  the  per- 
secutions, the  Jews  had  brought  to  bear  upon  them  very 


THE   EPISTEE  TO   THE   HEBREWS.  85 

subtle  and  powerful  lines  of  argument  to  persuade  them 
to  abandon  Christianity.  I  shall  state  these  very  loosely 
at  first,  and  then  in  a  form  in  which  you  can  understand 
their  bearing.  There  were  three  lines  of  argument  which 
the  Jews  were  accustomed  to  employ  to  convince  the 
Christians  that  they  had  better  give  up  Christianity  and 
go  back  to  the  religion  of  the  Jews.  They  would  say  : 
"We  used  to  suppose  that  this  Nazarene  religion  of 
yours  was  only  a  new  sect  of  Judaism,  like  the  Phari- 
sees, Sadducees,  Essenes,  or  what  not.  But  it  looks  as 
if  you  were  going  to  set  it  up  for  an  independent  relig- 
ion. And  now,  if  Christianity  is  to  be  set  up  for  an 
independent  religion  apart  from  Judaism,  just  see  how 
inferior  it  is  to  the  religion  of  our  fathers,  in  regard  to 
(i)  the  angels  on  Mount  Sinai  ;  (2)  Moses  ;  and  (3)  the 
priesthood,  the  Temple,  the  law,  and  the  sacrifices." 
They  would  say  :  "  The  religion  of  our  fathers  was  given 
through  holy  angels  on  Mount  Sinai."  That  isn't  re- 
corded in  Exodus  ;  but  it  was  the  belief  of  the  Jews,  as 
recorded  in  Stephen's  speech  in  the  7th  of  Acts.  It 
appears  here  :  "  The  religion  of  our  fathers  was  given 
through  holy  angels.  Are  you  going  to  turn  away  from 
that  which  came  straight  from  the  holy  angels,  and  take 
up  with  the  new-fangled  religion  of  the  Nazarene?" 
Then  secondly  :  **  Our  religion  v/as  given  through  Mo- 
ses." Moses  was  to  the  devout  religionists  of  the  time 
a  sort  of  combination,  I  suppose,  of  all  that  we  feel  to- 
ward George  Washington,  and  that  v/e  feel  toward  the 
Apostle  Paul.  It  is  very  hard  to  realize  how  the  Jews 
revered  Moses.  "  Are  you  going  to  turn  away  from  the 
religion  of  Moses,  just  to  follow  the  religion  of  the  Naz- 
arene?" Thirdly:  "The  religion  of  our  fathers  is  a 
religion.  See  its  daily  service,  its  smoking  altar,  its 
daily  sacrifices,  through  which  men  may  seek  forgive- 
ness.    This  religion  of  yours  has  no  altar,  no  sanctuary, 


86  A   COLLEGE   OF   COLLEGES. 

no  sacrifices,  no  priest — nothing  but  a  Nazarene.  Why- 
it  is  nothing  at  all.  It  isn't  a  religion.  It  hasn't  any  of 
the  marks  of  a  religion.  Are  you  going  to  abandon 
the  religion  of  our  fathers — with  the  priesthood  and 
the  sacrifices — for  a  religion  that  has  nothing,  and  is 
nothing  ? " 

Now,  I  don't  know  a  more  remarkable  example  in  all 
literature  of  a  writer  taking  the  arguments  of  his  oppo- 
nents and  turning  them  right  against  them  :  as  though 
soldiers  charged  up  a  hill  against  some  battery,  and 
seized  the  guns,  and  then  turned  them  against  the 
enemy.  For  every  one  of  these  arguments  the  writer 
turns  exactly  in  the  other  direction  ;  and  from  being  a 
ground  for  rejecting  Christianity,  he  finds  in  them  a 
ground  for  holding  on  to  Christianity. 

A  large  part  of  the  Epistle  consists  of  a  comprehen- 
sive argument  on  this  whole  question,  but  with  warn- 
ings and  exhortations  interspersed.  See  chapters  i.  to  x. 
1 8.  In  this  argumentative  portion  the  writer  takes  up 
these  three  lines  of  argument.  He  replies,  first  :  The 
Son  of  God  is  far  superior  to  the  angels.  He  is  far 
superior  to  the  angels,  through  whom  the  law  was  given 
on  Mount  Sinai.  That  is  the  topic  of  the  first  and  the 
second  chapter — the  Son  of  God,  through  whom  Chris- 
tianity was  given,  is  far  superior  to  the  angels,  through 
whom  the  law  was  given.  Now,  open  your  Bibles  and 
look,  as  I  just  point  out  rapidly  how  every  time  the 
argument  is  taken  right  out  of  the  Bible — with  applica- 
tions, exhortations,  and  warnings,  all  red-hot.  Recol- 
lect what  that  point  v/as  :  "  The  religion  of  our  fathers 
was  given  through  holy  angels  on  Mount  Sinai.  What 
have  you  got  to  equal  that?"  "  Why,  this,"  says  the 
writer,  "  that  Christianity  is  given  through  the  Son  of  God^ 
tvho  is  far  above  the  angels'*  Notice  how  he  begins. 
*'God,  who  at  sundry  times  and  in  divers  manners  (God 


THE   EPISTI.E   TO   THE   HEBREWS.  87 

who  in  many  parts  and  in  many  v.^ays)  spake  in  time 
past  unto  the  fathers  by  the  prophets,  hath  in  these  last 
days  spoken  unto  us  by  His  Son."  In  other  words, 
"  The  old  religion  was  given  in  many  different  parts, 
and  in  many  different  ways."  Now,  here  is  a  new  part 
which  God  has  given — not  through  prophets  any  longer, 
but  through  His  Son.  "  Through  His  Son,  whom  He 
hath  appointed  heir  of  all  things,  through  whom  He 
made  the  worlds  ;  who,  being  the  brightness  of  His 
glory,  and  the  express  image  of  His  person,  and  up- 
holding all  things  by  the  word  of  His  power,  when  He 
had  by  Himself  purged  our  sins,  sat  down  on  the  right 
hand  of  the  Majesty  on  high,  being  made  so  much  bet- 
ter than  the  angels."  There  we  touch  the  point. 
"Being  made  so  much  better  than  the  angels,  as  He 
hath  by  inheritance  obtained  a  more  excellent  name 
than  they."  The  rest  of  the  chapter  is  taken  up  with 
proofs  that  the  Son  of  God  is  superior  to  the  angels. 
Then  if  the  law  was  given  through  angels,  Christianity 
has  the  authority  of  the  Son  of  God,  who  is  more  than 
the  angels.  Please  notice  at  the  end  of  the  iirst  chapter 
an  expression  which  .'s  constantly  misunderstood.  "To 
which  of  the  angels  said  He  at  any  time.  Sit  on  my 
right  hand,  until  I  make  thine  enemies  thy  footstool  "; 
— as  He  did  say  to  Messiah,  in  the  iioth  Psalm.  "Are 
they  not  all  ministering  spirits,  sent  forth  to  minister" 
— not  sent  forth  to  reign,  as  the  Messiah  was,  on  the 
Father's  right  hand.  The  angels  are  ministering  spirits, 
"sent  forth  to  minister  for  them  who  shall  be  heirs  of 
salvation."  That  "  for  "  means  "  for  the  sake  of  " — "  for 
the  benefit  of."  "  Sent  forth  to  minister  to  God  (not  to 
reign  with  God)  for — for  the  benefit  of — the  heirs  of 
salvation."  People  have  got  a  notion  that  the  angels 
are  sent  forth  to  minister  to  them.  They  have  got  the 
idea  that  the  angels  minister  to  Christians.     They  min* 


88  A   COLLEGE   OF  COLLEGES. 

ister  to  God  for  the  benefit  of  Christians.     The  idea  is 
tlie  same  in  the  last  result. 

Notice,  now,  that  having  set  forth  that  statement,  that 
the  Son  of  God  through  whom  Christianity  is  given,  is 
far  superior  to  the  angels,  and  proved  it  by  quotations, 
the  writer  immediately  proceeds,  without  going  any 
farther,  to  make  a  practical  application  of  it.  He  can't 
wait  to  get  through  his  argument.  That  is  like  Paul. 
He  is  going  to  begin  his  application  ;  the  argument 
may  take  care  of  itself  after.  "  Therefore  we  ought  to 
give  the  more  earnest  heed  to  the  things  which  we  have 
heard,  lest  haply  we  drift  away  from  them."  What  a 
striking  Greek  phrase  that  is.  It  suggests  drifting  in  a 
boat  along  something  important  on  the  shore.  "  For  if 
the  word  spoken  by  angels  was  steadfast,  and  every 
transgression  and  disobedience  received  a  just  recom- 
pense of  reward,  how  shall  we  escape  if  we  neglect  so 
great  salvation  ? "  Not  *'  the  great  law  ";  but  "  so  great 
salvation."  And  then  he  goes  on  to  tell  how  great  it  is^- 
"  Which  at  the  first  began  to  be  spoken  through  the  Lord  * 
Not  "through  angels";  but  "through  the  Lord.' 
He  'had  this  to  start  with,  that  it  was  spoken  through 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  "  And  was  confirmed  unto  U9 
by  them  that  heard  Him  " — His  own  immi^diate  follow- 
ers. "  God  also  bearing  them  witness  (or  uniting  with 
them  in  bearing  witness)  both  with  signs  and  wonders, 
and  with  manifold  miracles,  and  gifts  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  according  to  His  own  will."  Now  then  :  "WDl 
it  rlo  to  neglect  the  Gospel  ?  You  see  v/hat  became  of 
the  men  who  slighted  the  law,  that  was  given  through 
angels  on  Mount  Sinai — they  received  the  just  recom- 
pense of  reward.  How,  then,  shall  we  escape  if  wp 
neglect  the  revelation  that  was  given  through  the  Son 
of  God,  confirmed  by  all  that  heard  it,  and  ratified  by 
all  manner  of  miracles  and  gifts  of  the  Holy  Spirit?" 


THE   EPISTLE  TO   THE   HEBREWS.  89 

Fsn't  that  turning  the  argument  the  other  way  ?  Isn't 
that  showing  a  reason  why  they  should  not  neglect 
Christianity  or  abandon  it  ?  The  rest  of  the  second 
chapter  goes  on  in  a  similar  manner — showing  that  the 
Founder  of  Christianity  is  preferred  to  the  angels. 

Take  the  second  argument — in  regard  to  Moses.     The 
Son  of  God  is  far  superior  to  Moses.     This  extends  from 
rhapter  iii.  i  to  iv.  13.     The  Jews  had  the  greatest  vener- 
ation for  Moses,     And  the  sacred  writer  here  in  iii.  i, 
after  introducing  Christ  Jesus^calls  Him  by  two  names, 
"Consider  the    Apostle"  —  that    is,    commissioner,    or 
missionary;   the  term  is  taken  in  a  literal,  etymological 
sense.     "Consider  the  Commissioner  and   High  Priest 
of  our  profession  " — that  is,  the  one  Son  of  God — "the 
Apostle  of  our  profession,  Christ  Jesus."     "Who  was 
faithful   to   Him   that  appointed   Him,    as   also    Moses 
was  faithful   in  all  His  house."     This  statement  is  re- 
peated: "  in  all   His  house" — that  is,  in   God's  house. 
That   is  borrowed  from  Numbers,  as  you    see  in   the 
margin   (Num.  xii.    7).     The  writer   says,   "Moses  was 
faithful  in  all  His  house,"  and  founds  his  argument  upon 
that.     "  Moses  was  only  a  servant  of  God.     He  was  a 
faithful  servant,  but  he  was  only  a  servant  in  the  house; 
and  the  Founder  of  Christianity  is  the  Son  of  God,  and 
a  son   is   more  than  a  servant.     Well,  then,  if  you  say 
that  the  religion  of  our  fathers  has  this  dignity,  that  it 
was  given  through  Moses,  the  servant  of  God,  I  grant  it; 
but  Christianity  has  this  higher  dignit}^,  that  it  is  given 
through  Jesus  Christ,  the  Son  of  God,  and  the  Son  is 
more  than  the  servant."     That  is  his  argument.     It  is  a 
very  short  argument.     He  builds  it  in  the  5th  and  6th 
veises,  and  then  he  falls  to  application  again.     As  Spur- 
geon  says,  "where   the  application  begins   the   sermon 
begins  ";  and  certainly  the  writer  of  this  Epistle  has  not 
kept  all  the  application  to  the  last.     His  object  is  to 


go  A   COLLEGE   OF   COLLEGES. 

restrain  these  people  from  abandoning  Christianity  and 
going  back  to  Judaism.  See  the  application  he  makes 
in  chapter  iii.  and  chapter  iv.  It  is  all  founded  upon  the 
idea  that  we  have  a  Leader  and  Apostle  who  is  greater 
than  Moses,  and  then  greater  than  Joshua.  "  If  our 
fathers  were  bound  to  follow  Moses,  the  faithful  servant 
of  the  Lord,  and  if  our  fathers  wouldn't,  and  perished 
in  the  wilderness,  although  they  had  such  a  leader,  what 
will  become  of  us  if  we  fail  to  follow  our  Leader,  who  is 
greater  than  Moses  or  Joshua?  If  our  fathers  wouldn't 
follow  their  leaders,  and  perished  through  their  unbe- 
lief and  disobedience,  let  7is  labor  to  enter  into  that  rest, 
lest  we  fall  after  the  same  example  of  unbelief/'  I  need 
not  go  into  details.  There  is  the  argument :  "  The 
Founder  of  Christianity  is  greater  than  Moses."  Then 
the  application:  "  If  our  fathers  were  ruined  by  refusing 
to  follow  Moses  in  their  unbelief,  how  much  greater 
ruin  will  befall  us  if  we  refuse  to  follow  a  greater  than 
Moses — that  is,  the  Founder  of  Christianity." 

Now  we  come  to  the  third  argument,  and  the  princi- 
pal one.  It  occupies  the  far  greater  portion  of  the 
book.  His  priesthood  is  far  stiperior  to  the  Zevitical  priest- 
hood. This  extends  from  chapter  iv.  14  to  x.  18,  inclu- 
sive— forming  the  bulk  of  the  argumentative  portion  of 
the  Epistle.  It  begins  with  an  exhortation.  The  argu- 
ment covers  a  great  deal  of  ground,  and  so  the  writer 
begins  with  an  exhortation.  I  pointed  out  how,  in  the 
first  case,  he  broke  into  the  middle  of  his  argument  with 
an  exhortation.  Now  he  actually  begins  with  one.  That 
is  like  Paul.  He  is  going  to  talk  about  the  fact  that  the 
Son  of  God,  the  Founder  of  Christianity,  is  a  priest.  He 
calls  Him  a  priest:  "Having,  then,  as  we  said  a  while 
ago,  a  great  High  Priest."  He  is  going  to  elaborate 
that — the  proof  will  come  afterward.  "Having,  then,  a 
great  High  Priest,  that  is  passed  through  the  heavens." 


THE   EPISTLE   TO   THE   HEBREWS.  9 1 

That  is  a  bad  mistake  in  the  translation — "  passed  into 
the  heavens."  The  image  of  the  heavens  corresponds  to 
the  veil  in  the  Temple.  As  the  high  priest  passed 
through  the  veil  and  out  of  sight  into  the  sanctuary 
beyond,  so  our  High  Priest  passed  through  the  visible 
heavens.  "  Passed  through  the  heavens  "  makes  a  great 
difference  there  in  comprehending  the  image.  "  Having, 
then,  a  great  High  Priest  that  is  passed  through  the 
heavens,  Jesus,  the  Son  of  God,  let  us  hold  fast  our  pro- 
fession." That  is  the  key-note  of  the  Epistle.  "  Let  us 
not  neglect  our  salvation.  Let  us  not  fail  to  enter  into 
that  rest,  as  our  fathers  failed  through  unbelief.  Let  us 
hold  fast  our  profession."  "  For," — you  all  know  the 
passage,  but  let  me  lose  no  opportunity  to  repeat  it. 
O  precious  words — O  sacred  truth,  that  has  come  hom.e 
unnumbered  times  to  sin-burdened,  struggling,  troubled 
human  hearts  !  "  For  we  have  not  an  high  priest  who 
cannot  be  touched  with  the  feeling  of  our  infirmities; 
but  was  in  all  points  tempted  like  as  we  are,  yet  without 
sin.  Let  us  therefore  come  boldly  unto  the  throne  of 
grace."  I  used  to  hear  some  good  men,  when  I  was  a 
boy,  change  that.  They  always  prayed,  "  come  with  a 
holy  boldness."  They  thought  it  v/ould  be  too  bold  to 
say,  "  come  boldly,"  and  they  wanted  to  come  v»dth  a 
holy  boldness — a  humble  boldness.  Why  that?  Be- 
cause they  didn't  understand  the  "  therefore."  "  There- 
fore— because  we  have  a  great  High  Priest  who  has 
passed  into  the  heavens,  and  is  ever  interceding,  and- 
ean sympathize  with  our  infirmities — let  us  therefore, 
and  thinking  of  Him,  and  of  His  holiness,  come  bold- 
ly." I  have  a  very  dear  friend  who  preached  a  whole 
sermon  from  this  word  "therefore."  Let  me  say  in 
regard  to  all  of  Paul's  Epistles  :  if  you  can  under- 
stand every  "  therefore,"  and  every  "  for,"  you  can 
understand  any  of  his  writings.     Never  mind  about  the 


92  A   COLLEGE   OF   COLLEGES. 

rest.     Take  care  of  the  pennies  and  the  pounds  will 
come  out  straiglit. 

Having  begun  with  this  exhortation — to  hold  fast 
because  we  have  such  a  High  Priest — the  sacred  writer 
goes  on  to  argue  this  matter  out.  He  shows  that  the 
general  characteristics  of  the  high  priest  are  to  be  found 
in  Christ  (chap.  iv.  1-9).  Christ,  the  Founder  of 
Christianit}^  has  the  general  characteristics  possessed  by 
one  who  is  what  a  high  priest  ought  to  be.  That  is  the 
first  point.  Then  he  shows  that  Christ's  priesthood  is 
superior  to  the  Levitical,  because  it  is  after  the  order  of 
Melchisedec,  and  constituted  with  an  oath  (chap.  v.  10 
to  vii.  28).  This  is  one  of  the  most  important  parts  of 
the  Epistle,  in  which  the  writer  proves  that  Christ's 
priesthood  is  superior  to  the  Levitical  because  after  the 
order  of  Melchisedec,  and  constituted  with  an  oath. 
But  having  mentioned  Melchisedec,  he  pauses.  He  is 
afraid  they  won't  understand  him — or  at  least^  that  a 
great  many  won't  understand  him.  "  Of  whom  we 
have  many  things  to  say,  and  hard  to  be  uttered,  seeing 
ye  are  dull  of  hearing.  For  when,  for  the  time  (consid- 
ering the  time,  hovv^  long  you  have  been  professing  Chris- 
tians), ye  ought  to  be  teachers,  ye  have  need  that  one 
should  teach  you  again,  and  are  become  such  as  have 
need  of  milk,  and  not  of  strong  meat."  In  other  words  : 
"  Considering  that  3^ou  have  been  a  long  time  professed 
Christians,  you  ought  to  be  able  to  digest  heavy  food  ; 
yet  here  you  are  wanting  milk  still."  "  For  every  one  that 
useth  milk  is  unskilful  in  the  word  of  righteousness." 
Oh,  hew  full  our  churches  are — churches  away  from 
here,  for  politeness  requires  that  we  should  except  our- 
selves— of  such  people,  who  are  not  feeding  on  the 
Scriptures.  They  want  nothing  but  milk,  and  some  of 
them  want  that  sweetened.  "  But  heavy  food  belongeth 
to  them  that  are  of  full  age  (grown-up  people — supposed 


THE  EPISTLE  TO   THE  HEBREWS.  93 

to  be),  even  those  who  by  reason  of  use  have  their  senses 
exercised  to  discern  both  good  and  evil."     Gentlemen, 
the  more  you  know  of  God's  Word,  the  more  you  can 
know  God's  Word  ;  and  the  more  you  are  living  by 
God's  Word,  the  more  you  can  understand  God's  Word. 
And  if  you  keep  it  at  arm's  length,  and  dally  with  it, 
and  play  around  it,  then  the  years  and  years  may  come 
and  go  and  we  still  may  not  know  how  to  enter  into  its 
deeper  meanings.     The  Apostle  feels  like  a  teacher  who 
has  put  his  pupils  through  a  lesson,  and  wants  to  put 
them  through  an  examination.     "  Are  you  not  going  on," 
he  says,  "  into  the  difficult  questions  ?     Must  I  go  back 
over  the  A,  B,  C  of  the  business  ?     No  ;  I  won't  do  any 
such  thing.     Therefore  let  us  leave  the  principles  of  the 
doctrine  of  Christ,   and  go  on    unto  perfection  " — that 
perfection  of  which  be  spoke  in  chapter  v.  14,  namely, 
the  maturity  of  Christian  growth — the  being  grown-up 
people,  and  not  mere  babes.     "Let  us  leave  the  princi- 
ples of  the  doctrine  of  Christ  and  go  on  to  perfection, 
not  laying  again  the  foundation  " — the  A,  B,  C.     "  I  will 
go  on  to  something  else.     There  will  be  some  of  you 
that  can't  understand  it,  I  know  ;  but  there  is  no  use  in 
staying  with  them  and  bothering  with  them  any  longer." 
That  is  about  the  way   the    writer  speaks.     There  are 
many  pupils  who  remain  away  behind  all  the  time,  and 
you  take  a  great  deal  of  trouble  with  them,  and  finally 
you   say  to  yourself  :  "  I  have  fooled  with  them  long 
enough.     I'll  give  my  attention  to  some  of  the  rest."     I 
am  trying  to  illustrate  the  best  way  I  can  the  idea  of  the 
sacred  writer.      He  reproves   those   people   who   can't 
understand  things,  because  they  have  so  long  been  pro- 
fessed Christians  and  have  made  no  progress,  and  want 
him  to  be  forever  repeating  the  A,  B,  C's  of  Christianity. 
He  says  :  "  Let  us  go  on.     As  for  those  other   people, 
there  is  no  use  doing  anything.    »Si7/;f^  of  you  understand.* 


94  A  COLLEGE  OF  COLLEGES. 

Q.  Were  those  people  renewed  ? 

Dr.  Broadus— In  the  first  place,  you  don't  know  ;  and 
in  the  second  place,  I  don't  know  ;  and  in  the  third 
place,  I  don't  know  who  does  know  ;  and  I  believe  we 
won't  stay — we  will  go  on.  Gentlemen,  the  solemn 
warnings  that  are  given  in  this  Epistle  of  what  will 
happen  if  we  give  up  Christianity,  apply  to  us  as  they 
did  to  those  people.  Apart  from  Christianity  we  have 
got  nothing  to  go  upon — nothing  to  depend  upon. 
Without  stopping  to  decide  the  question  whether  your 
Christian  experiences  have  been  genuine  or  not — you 
haven't  got  to  go  into  the  rubbish  of  the  past — if  you 
give  up  Christianity  you  are  gone.  That  was  true  of 
them  ;  it  is  true  of  you  and  me.  That  is  all  there  is  to 
it,  that  I  can  see.  Next,  the  writer  goes  on  to  apply  con- 
soling words  to  the  better  class  of  them.  "  But,  beloved, 
we  are  persuaded  better  things  of  you,  and  things  that 
accompany  salvation,  though  we  thus  speak.  For  God 
is  not  unrighteous  to  forget  your  work  and  labor  of  love 
which  ye  have  showed  toward  His  name,  in  that  ye  have 
ministered  to  the  saints,  and  do  minister."  "Those 
there  are  among  you  that  really  have  made  progress  in 
Christian  truth  and  Christian  living,  and  we  don't  mean 
to  condemn  you."  And  so  he  goes  on  to  the  end  of  that 
admonition.  The  admonition  extends  from  chapter  v. 
II,  away  to  the  end  of  chapter  vi.  Then  at  the  end  of 
chapter  vi.  he  comes  to  the  High  Priest  again — "  Even 
Jesus,  made  an  high  priest  forever  after  the  order  of 
Melchisedec."  Now,  observe  —  here  is  the  point  : 
Christ's  priesthood  is  superior  to  the  Levitical,  because 
it  is  a  priesthood  after  the  order  of  Melchisedec,  found 
mentioned  in  the  iioth  Psalm  :  "The  Lord  hath  sworn, 
and  will  not  repent.  Thou  art  a  priest  forever,  after  the 
order  of  Melchisedec."  Ail  the  Jews  understood  this 
reference.     His  point  now  is  that  the  Messiah  is  a  priest, 


THE   EPISTLE  TO   THE   HEBREWS.  95 

and  a  higher  kind  of  a  priest  than  the  priests  of  the 
Levitical  dispensation.  Now,  don't  get  befoggcl  about 
Melchisedec.  We  don't  know  much  about  Melchisedec. 
There  are  two  things  shown  to  us  :  First,  he  is  a  priest 
continually — he  ''abideth  a  priest  continually"  (vii.  3). 
The  priesthood  of  Melchisedec  as  it  stands  on  the  page 
of  history  is  a  continual  priesthood.  It  is  not  a  priest- 
hood like  the  Levitical,  that  is  derived  from  a  father 
and  handed  down  to  a  son,  and  is  established  on  gene- 
alogy. There  is  no  mention  of  any  father  or  m.other — 
no  mention  of  any  father  or  mother — no  mention  of  any 
genealogy — no  mention  of  the  beginning  of  his  days  or 
the  end  of  his  life.  There  it  stands,  a  priesthood  all  the 
time.  That  is  a  picture  of  the  priesthood  of  Messiah, 
which  is  a  priesthood  not  derived  from  ancestors  and 
handed  down  to  successors,  but  a  perpetual  and  contin- 
ual priesthood.  Who  is  Melchisedec  ? — and  what  is 
Melchisedec  ?  That  about  Melchisedec  ;  and  so  far  as 
I  can  see,  only  that  and  nothing  more.  You  can  write 
the  rest  of  his  life,  perhaps,  because  you  don't  know. 
What  a  man  doesn't  know  is  an  immense  field  for  pros- 
pecting. 

Then  the  second  argument  which  he  makes  about  this 
matter,  is  :  The  greatness  of  the  Messianic  priesthood, 
as  proved  by  the  fact  that  Abraham  gives  to  Melchise- 
dec a  gift  of  a  tenth  part  of  the  spoils.  The  Melchis- 
edec priesthood  was  a  very  exalted  kind  of  priesthood, 
you  see.  The  argument,  then,  regarding  the  priesthood 
of  Christ  is,  first,  it  is  a  continual,  permanent  priest- 
hood ;  second,  it  is  a  very  exalted  priesthood.  This  is 
proven  in  two  ways  :  First,  Abraham  gave  Melchisedec 
titles  ;  and  second.  The  Messiah  was  declared  to  be  a 
priest  with  an  oath.  **  The  Lord  swore,  and  will  not 
repent.  Thou  art  a  priest  forever  after  the  order  of 
Melchisedec"  (chap.  vii.   21).     The   Founder  of  Chris- 


96  A   COLLEGE   OF   COLLEGES. 

tianity  is  a  priest  of  a  higher  sort  than  the  priests  of  the 
Levitical  priesthood,  as  is  proven  by  His  being  a  priest 
after  the  order  of  Melchisedec,  and  a  priest  constituted 
with  an  oath.  Now,  I  beg  you  before  you  leave  that,  to 
notice  in  vii.  25  a  passage  that  everybody  preaches 
about,  but  often,  I  think,  failing  to  get  the  great  and 
glorious  meaning.  In  the  23d  verse  the  passage  begins: 
"And  they  truly  were  many  priests,  because  they  were 
not  suffered  to  continue  by  reason  of  death."  There 
was  a  long  succession  of  numerous  priests,  because  they 
were  not  suffered  to  continue.  "  But  this  man,"  the 
Founder  of  Christianity,  the  Messiah,  "because  He  con- 
tinueth  ever,  hath  an  unchangeable  priesthood  " — not 
a  changeable  one,  a  transmissible  one,  handed  down  to 
Him  and  then  handed  by  Him  to  a  successor.  He  is  a 
priest  forever,  untransmitted  ;  and  stands  always  the 
same.  "Wherefore,"  because  His  priesthood  is  untrans- 
missible,  "  He  is  able  also  to  save  them  to  the  uttermost 
that  come  unto  God  by  Him,  seeing  He  ever  liveth  to 
make  intercession  for  them."  Why  ;  a  Pope  of  Rome 
has  to  build  himself  a  tomb  for  fear  his  successor  will 
not  care  enough  about  him  to  build  him  one  at  all.  And 
if  you  put  anything  that  takes  hold  upon  eternity  into 
the  hands  of  a  mortal  man,  he  soon  finds  he  has  got  to 
die,  and  has  got  to  have  a  line  of  successors  ;  and  how 
do  you  know  they  will  remember  you,  and  care  anything 
about  you,  and  put  through  what  he  has  undertaken  to 
do  for  you  ?  But  the  Messiah  holds  His  priesthood  for- 
ever— untransmissible.  He  ever  lives  to  make  interces- 
sion for  them  who  come  to  God  through  Him  ;  and  if 
you  put  your  salvation  in  His  hands,  He  does  not  have 
to  turn  it  over  to  any  one  who  may  or  may  not  carry  it 
out.  "  He  is  able  to  save  them  unto  completeness,  be- 
cause He  ever  lives  to  carry  on  the  work  He  undertook 
to  do  for  them."     Some  people  understand  this  to  m.ean: 


THE   EPISTLE   TO   THE   HEBREWS.  97 

"  He  is  able  to  save  unto  the  worst  sinners."  That  is  a 
great  and  glorious  truth,  but  that  is  not  the  idea  here  at 
all.  "  He  is  able  to  save  forever  and  forever,  because 
He  is  the  same  unchangeable  priest."  "To  save  unto 
completeness  {ei;  to  TtavTeXti)" — not  simply  to  begin  it 
and  keep  at  it  awhile,  but  to  completeness.  Oh,  the 
wrecks  in  human  history  of  things  that  men  began 
with  noble  intent  and  sustained  with  high  endeavor,  but 
they  died,  and  their  work  fell  through  and  passed  away. 
Our  Saviour  "  is  able  to  complete  the  salvation  of  them 
that  come  to  God  through  Him,  seeing  He  ever  liveth." 
Now,  gentlemen,  you  can  forget  all  the  rest  of  what  I 
have  said,  if  you  lay  hold  of  that  for  yourself  and  for 
everybody  else— for  the  troubled  ones  who  try  to  live 
in  this  life  of  sin  and  sorrow.     But  let  us  go  on. 

The  next  part  of  the  argument  covers  the  rest  of  the 
argumentative  portion  of  the  Epistle.  Christ  ministers  in 
a  higher  sanctuary  than  the  Levitical,  and  offers  a  better  sacri- 
fice. This  the  writer  elaborates  at  considerable  length 
in  the  next  two  chapters  and  a  half.  Please  think  about 
it.  The  Jews  were  saying  that  the  Christian  religion 
lacked  the  very  elements  of  being  a  religion.  It  had  no 
priesthood,  no  sanctuary,  no  altar,  no  sacrifice — it  was 
no  religion  at  all.  The  sacred  writer  proceeds  to  show 
that  the  Founder  of  Christianity — the  Messiah,  the  High 
Priest — has  a  sanctuary,  has  an  altar,  has  a  sacrifice  ; 
and  that  these  are  all  superior  to  those  they  had  been 
telling  him  about  and  wanting  to  go  back  to.  The  Mes- 
siah has  a  better  sanctuary,  a  better  altar,  and  a  better 
sacrifice  than  the  Levitical.  Now,  see.  Open  to  chap- 
ter viii. 

{a.)  He  is  "a  minister  of  the  sanctuary,  and  of  the  true 
tabernacle  " — not  merely  a  man's  tabernacle,  but  a  taber- 
nacle beyond  the  sky,  of  which  the  earthly  tabernacle 
was  a  type.  "  By  how  much  also  is  He  the  mediator  of 
5 


98  A  COLLEGE   OF  COLLEGES. 

a  better  covenant,  which  was  established  upon  better 
promises."  He  ministers  in  the  true  tabernacle,  under 
a  better  covenant. 

(d.)  Now,  the  sacrifice  is  His  own  blood.  The  sacrifice 
He  offers  is  His  own  blood.  Gentlemen,  we  are  used  to 
that  ;  but  there  is  a  sense  in  which  that  is  the  most  stu- 
pendous fact  that  ever  came  into  our  minds.  The  eter- 
nal heart  of  God  was  made  flesh,  and  came  to  be  a 
teacher,  and  a  priest  also — to  offer  a  sacrifice  consisting 
of  His  own  blood.  You  never  heard  of  that  in  your  life 
in  any  other  except  the  Christian  religion.  It  is  most 
amazing— the  sacrifice  is  His  own  blood  !  Look  at 
chapter  ix.  1-22.  Notice  in  verse  11,  for  instance  : 
"  Christ  being  come  an  high  priest  of  good  things  to 
come,  by  a  greater  and  more  perfect  tabernacle,  not 
made  with  hands,  that  is  10  say,  not  of  this  building. 
Neither  by  the  blood  of  goats  and  calves,  but  by  His 
own  blood.  He  entered  in  once  into  the  holy  place, 
having  obtained  eternal  redemption."  That  word  is 
emphatic  here,  you  see.  His  own  blood  wins  eternal 
redemption.  The  writer  will  repeat  these  thoughts 
presently.  "  For  if  the  blood  of  bulls  and  of  goats,  and 
the  ashes  of  an  heifer  sprinkling  the  unclean,  sanctifieth 
to  the  purifying  of  the  flesh  ;  how  much  more  shall  the 
blood  of  Christ,  who  through  the  eternal  Spirit  offered 
Himself  without  spot  to  God,  purify  your  conscience." 
That  is  the  great  central  thought  of  the  Atonement  :  the 
sacrifice  of  His  own  blood,  not  the  blood  of  bulls  and 
goats,  shall  "purify  your  conscience  from  dead  works  to 
serve  the  living  God." 

(^.)  This  sanctuary  and  sacrifice  are  not  typical,  but 
heavenly  and  true.  This  is  stated  very  briefly  in  chap- 
ter ix.  23,  24  :  "  It  was  therefore  necessary  that  the  pat- 
terns of  things  in  the  heavens  should  be  purified  with 
these  "  sacrifices  of  the  blood  of  animals.     The  earthly 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  HEBREWS.  99 

copies  made  of  the  heavenly  sanctuary  had  to  be  purified 
with  the  blood  of  animal  sacrifices.  "  But  the  heavenly 
things  themselves  with  better  sacrifices  than  these.  For 
Christ  is  not  entered  into  the  holy  places  made  with 
hands,  which  are  the  figures  of  the  true  ;  but  into  heaven 
itself,  now  to  appear  in  the  presence  of  God  for  us."  So 
then,  the  true  sanctuary,  of  which  the  earthly  place  of 
worship  was  but  a  picture,  had  for  its  sacrifice  the  blood 
of  Christ  Himself. 

(d.)  The  sacrifice  is  not  repeated,  but  once  for  all — 
once  for  all,  and  all-sufficient.  That  is  the  rest  of  the 
argumentative  portion — chapter  ix.  25  to  x.  18.  His 
sacrifice  is  not  repeated,  but  once  for  all,  and  all-suffi- 
cient. "  Not  repeated " — that  is  the  emphatic  point. 
Now  look  at  the  text  a  moment  there — see  how  it  brings 
it  out — chapter  ix.  25  :  "Nor  yet  that  He  should  offer 
Himself  often,  as  the  High  Priest  entereth  into  the  holy 
place  every  year  with  blood  of  others  :  for  then  must  He 
often  have  suffered  from  the  foundation  of  the  world : 
out  now  once  in  the  end  of  the  world  hath  He  appeared, 
to  put  away  sin  by  the  sacrifice  of  Himself.  And  as  it 
is  appointed  unto  men  once  to  die,  but  after  this  the 
judgment ;  so  Christ  was  once  offered  to  bear  the  sins 
of  many."  See  x.  12  :  "But  this  man,  after  He  had 
offered  one  sacrifice  of  sins  forever."  Again,  verse  14  : 
"  For  by  one  offering  He  hath  perfected  forever  them 
that  are  sanctified."  See  how  often  this  idea  is  repeated. 
The  sacrifice  was  not  every  day — not  every  year  ;  but 
His  own  blood  was  offered  once  for  all,  all-sufficient, 
forever.     That  completes  the  argumentative  portion. 

Now,  the  rest  of  the  Epistle — x.  19  to  the  end — is  a 
further  exhortation  of  a  nature  akin  to  the  previous  ex- 
hortation— to  hold  on  to  Christianity  ;  not  to  abandon 
it,  and  go  back  and  be  mere  Jews.  Because,  "  Haven't 
I  proven  that  in  all  the  points  in  which  the  religion  of 


lOO  A  COLLEGE  OF  COLLEGES. 

our  fathers  deserves  reverence,  Christianity  deserve, 
only  a  greater  reverence  ?"  The  writer  isn't  content  with 
the  exhortations  he  has  thrown  in  by  the  way  ;  but  now 
he  expands  "as  the  Lord  gives  light  and  liberty" — as 
the  old  preacher  used  to  say.    He  expands  the  argument. 

1.  He  exhorts  them  to  hold  fast  because  of  having 
such  a  High  Priest.  This  comes  immediately  after  the 
preceding  section — chapter  x.  19-25:  "Having  there- 
fore, brethren,  boldness  to  enter  into  the  holiest  by  the 
blood  of  Jesus  ....  let  us  draw  near  with  a  true  heart, 
in  full  assurance  of  faith,  having  our  hearts  sprinkled 
from  an  evil  conscience,  and  our  bodies  washed  with 
pure  water.  Let  us  hold  fast  the  profession  of  our  faith 
without  wavering."  This  is  the  same  thing  he  said  be- 
fore, you  know — "  Let  us  hold  fast  the  profession  of  our 
faith,  because  we  have  such  a  sacrifice.  Let  us  hold 
fast  the  profession  of  our  hope  without  wavering." 

2.  He  states  the  terrible  results  of  apostasy.  He  re- 
fers to  them  as  a  reason  for  not  stopping  to  argue  any 
more  with  those  who  have  abandoned  Christianity. 
"  If  you  go  back  and  have  anything  more  to  do  with  the 
Jews,  just  see  what  the  end  will  be."  Chapter  x.  26-39  • 
"  For  if  we  sin  wilfully  after  that  we  have  received  the 
knowledge  of  the  truth,  there  remaineth  no  more  sacri- 
fice for  sins,  but  a  fearful  looking  for  of  judgment,  and 
fiery  indignation,  which  shall  devour  the  adversaries." 
He  bears  on  again  with  the  law  :  "  He  that  despised 
Moses'  law  died  without  mercy  under  two  or  three  wit- 
nesses. Of  how  much  sorer  punishment,  suppose  ye, 
shall  he  be  thought  worthy  who  hath  trodden  under 
foot  the  Son  of  God,  and  hath  counted  the  blood  of 
the  covenant,  wherewith  he  was  sanctified,  an  unholy 
thing,  and  hath  done  despite  unto  the  Spirit  of  grace." 
Now,  don't  stop  to  ask  any  of  your  theological  ques- 
tions.    I  believe  in  theology,  but  this  is  a  matter  of  his 


THE   EPISTI.E   TO   THE    HEBREWS.  10 1 

tory.  And  then  these  were  not  the  last  people  in  this 
world  who,  having  once  been  professing  Christians, 
have  been  tempted  to  abandon  their  faith  in  the  name 
of  science,  in  the  name  of  culture,  or  in  the  name  of 
nonsense  ;  and  there  will  be  temptations  hereafter,  and 
arguments  to  persuade  men  to  abandon  Christianit}'. 
Oh,  many  have  been  tempted  and  tested  in  that  way 
many  times.  One  good  thing  to  think  is  :  "  If  I  aban- 
don Christianity,  what  then  ? — what  then  ?  *  To  whom 
shall  we  go  ? '  If  I  abandon  Christianity,  I  have  got  to 
believe  something.  What  is  there  better  worth  believ- 
ing than  Christianity?  I  have  got  to  believe  something 
— what  else  is  there  to  believe  in  ? "  It  is  useful  to  go  to 
the  very  edge  of  a  precipice  and  see  how  deep  it  is,  if 
you  turn  and  get  away  as  fast  as  ever  you  can.  If  that 
doesn't  suit  your  theology,  so  much  the  worse  for  your 
theology.     But  I  am  not  talking  theology. 

3.  He  speaks  of  their  former  patient  endurance — x 
32-39.  Just  as  before,  when  he  spoke  of  the  persons  it 
was  no  use  fooling  over,  and  then  turned  to  the  better 
class  ;  so  now  when  speaking  of  the  terrible  results  of 
apostasy,  immediately  after  he  says  :  "  I  don't  mean 
this  about  you.  You  have  done  well."  After  a  solemn 
warning  concerning  the  fearful  ruin  resulting  from  apos- 
tasy, he  puts  in  something  encouraging — something 
comforting  :  "  Call  to  remembrance  the  former  days,  in 
which,  after  ye  were  illuminated  (or  enlightened),  ye 
endured  a  great  fight  of  afflictions."  "  Let  that  encour- 
age you."  Then  in  verse  35  :  "  Cast  not  away  therefore 
your  confidence,  which  hath  great  recompense  of  re- 
ward." "  Hold  on  !  — as  you  have  been  holding  on  ;  and 
don't  give  up,  for  you  see  the  ruin  that  would  follow." 
"  For  ye  have  need  of  patience,  that  after  ye  have  done 
the  will  of  God  ye  might  receive  the  promise.  For  yet 
a  little  while,  and  He  that  shall  come  will  come,  and 


102  A  COLLEGE  OF  COLLEGES. 

will  not  tarry."  Here  he  quotes  from  Habakkuk  (ii.  3, 
4).  It  is  the  same  passage  that  Paul  quotes  in  Romans 
and  Galatians.  "  Now  the  just  shall  live  by  faith  ;  but 
if  any  man  draw  back,  my  soul  shall  have  no  pleaeure 
in  him."  There  is  the  warning.  "  But  we  are  not  of 
them  who  draw  back  unto  perdition,  but  of  them  that 
believe  to  the  saving  of  the  souL"  Oh,  that  chapter- 
maker — how  he  ruins  the  meaning  sometimes.  He  was 
a  good-natured,  well-meaning  old  soul,  who  lived  about 
six  centuries  ago.  He  used  to  divide  tolerably  well 
when  he  was  at  his  best,  but  sometimes  he  has  broken 
things  right  in  two,  as  in  this  case.  "  We  are  not  of 
them  who  draw  back  unto  perdition,  but  of  them  that 
believe  to  the  saving  of  the  soul.  Now,  believing  is  the 
substance  of  things  hoped  for,  the  evidence  of  things 
not  seen."  It  goes  right  on.  People  begin  there — at 
the  opening  of  chapter  xi. — as  if  it  was  a  new  being  in 
creation,  a  new  universe  almost.  They  never  stop  to 
look  back  and  see  what  precedes  it.  '*  We  are  of  them 
that  believe  to  the  saving  of  the  soul.  Now,  believing 
is  the  substance  of  things  hoped  for,  the  evidence  of 
things  not  seen."  I  have  heard  it  said  very  often  that 
that  is  a  Divine  definition  of  faith,  and  I  have  these 
things  to  remark  about  it :  First,  I  should  think  it  a 
matter  of  concern  if  a  Divine  definition  of  faith  con- 
tained as  many  words  that  were  hard  to  define  as  that 
passage  does  ;  and,  second,  I  can't  see  that  there  is  any 
need  of  a  definition  of  faith.  Divine  or  human.  Faith  is 
as  easy  a  thing  to  understand  as  anything  that  comes 
before  the  human  mind.  It  is  as  simple  an  idea  as  there 
is.  How  can  you  explain  what  cannot  be  analyzed  and 
made  any  simpler  at  all  ?  I  heard  a  definition  of  faith 
by  an  old  colored  preacher  in  Virginia.  "  Uncle  Ben," 
said  one  of  his  people,  "can  you  explain  what  is' faith 
in  the  Lord  and  faith  in  the  devil  ? "     Uncle  Ben  drew 


THE   EPISTLE  TO   THE   HEBREWS.  103 

himself  up  and  said  :  "  Yes.  Dere's  in  the  first  place 
faith  in  de  Lawd,  an'  in  de  second  place,  faith  in  de 
devil.  In  de  first  place — firstly — dere's  faith.  Now,  I'm 
goin'  to  'splain  faith.  Now,  faith — faith  is  just  faith — 
an'  nothin  *  mo'-an'  faith,  an*  nothin*  less,  an'  nothin' 
but  faith — an*  I  am  done  'splainin'."  When  you  get  a 
better  definition  than  that  old  negro  preacher  had,  I 
wish  you  would  write  to  me.  Some  people  say  they 
can't  understand  faith,  when  if  they  can't  it  is  because 
they  don't  want  to  do  it.  If  I  want  my  child  to  love  me, 
I  don't  go  into  metaphysics— I  show  myself  lovely. 
Let  me  show  myself  lovely,  and  my  child  will  love 
me  ;  unless  it  is  so  constituted  that  it  doesn't  want 
to  love  me,  and  then  no  metaphysical  definitions  will 
help  the  matter  at  all.  I  think  our  definitions  of  faith 
only  help  objectors  to  find  excuses  for  refusing  to  exer- 
cise it. 

"  We  are  not  of  them  who  draw  back  unto  perdition, 
but  of  them  that  believe  to  the  saving  of  the  soul."  "  In 
the  power  of  this  faith  we  should  bear  present  trials, 
and  press  on  through  present  difficulties  till  we  get 
through  and  are  received."  The  whole  burden  of  this 
chapter  is  to  present  glorious  instances  of  men  who  had 
so  much  faith  in  the  things  to  com.e  that  they  held  out, 
and  triumphed  at  last.  The  writer  says  in  effect  :  "See 
how  they  put  up  with  the  trials  of  the  present  life,  as 
you  ought  to  do.  Have  patience.  Keep  on  believing, 
unto  the  saving  of  the  soul."  And  after  a  long  list  is 
given  (in  the  nth  chapter),  he  begins  the  application  of 
it.  In  chapter  xii.  i,  he  says:  "Wherefore,  seeing  we 
also  are  compassed  about  with  so  great  a  cloud  of  wit- 
nesses"— namely,  those  heroes  of  faith  that  have  been 
described,  and  in  their  day  had  trouble  and  conquered 
it.  And  these  persons  are  not  simply  spectators,  but 
persons  who  have  borne  witness.   The  Greek  here  is  7//i£zS 


104  A   COLLEGE   OF  COLLEGES. 

Tocrovrov  e'xorre?  Ttepnaijxerov  i)}.uv  vicpoz  fiapri  pcov* 
"Seeing  we  are  compassed  about  with  so  great  a  cloud 
of  witnesses,  let  us  lay  aside  every  weight  and  the  sin 
which  doth  so  easily  beset  us,  and  let  us  run  with 
patience  the  race  that  is  set  before  us.  Looking  unto" 
— and  he  doesn't  say  "  looking  unto  Abel,  Enoch,  Abra- 
ham, Moses,"  because  there  came  into  his  mind,  just 
then  and  there  in  the  midst  of  his  exhortation,  the 
thought  that  there  is  an  example  of  faith  and  the  power 
of  faith  in  future  good  to  sustain  amid  present  trial  and 
suffering  that  transcends  all  his  roll  of  worthies,  and  so  he 
says  :  "  Looking  away."  That  is  what  it  is  literally — 
aqjop^yT£^\ — "  Looking  away  from  ourselves,  away  from 
the  heroes  of  past  ages,  to  the  one  example,  unique  and 
incomparable,  of  the  power  of  faith  in  future  good  to 
sustain  us  in  present  trial."  "  Looking  avv^ay  unto  Jesus, 
the  author  and  finisher  of  our  faith,  who  for  the  joy  that 
was  set  before  Him  " — and  who  believed  in  that  joy  that 
was  set  before  Him.  As  Abraham  believed  in  the  prom- 
ises set  before  him,  and  bore  present  trial  ;  as  Noah 
believed  ;  so  this  higher  One,  for  the  joy  that  was  set 
before  Him,  "endured  the  Cross,  despising  the  shame  "; 
and  He  has  had  the  fulfilment  of  His  faith — He  has 
entered  into  that  joy — He  "hath  set  down  at  the  right 
hand  of  the  throne  of  God."  So,  then,  let  us  not  be  of 
them  that  draw  back  unto  perdition,  but  of  them  that 
believe  unto  the  saving  of  the  soul  ;  for  it  is  such  belief 
in  God's  promises  of  future  good  that  can  enable  us  to 
bear  all   present  trials,  and  triumph  over  all   present 


*  Literally  :  **  We  have  environing  us  so  great  a  cloud,  or 
throng  of  persons,  witnessing." — Ed. 

t "  Viewing  with  undivided  attention  by  turning  away  from 
every  other  object ;  regarding  fixedly  and  earnestly." — Ed. 


THE   EPISTLE  TO   THE   HEBREWS.  I05 

difficulties,  as  did  the  heroes  of  faith  in  the  past,  and 
even  Jesus  our  Lord  and  Redeemer. 

Now  there  is  more  to  say,  but  I  must  conclude.  The 
rest  of  the  Epistle  is  much  to  the  same  effect :  further 
exhortations — and  all  based  continually  upon  the  supe- 
riority of  the  Christian  priesthood  and  the  Christian 
sacrifice  to  all  the  ideas  of  the  past  dispensation.  There 
are  only  two  or  three  sentences  at  the  close  that  have  no 
immediate  connection  with  the  burden  of  the  whole 
argument. 


s* 


CHAPTER  X. 

Paul's  epistle  to  Philemon. 

Address  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Pierson,  of  Philadelphia — The  Idyll  of  the 
New  Testament— Roman  Law  Concerning  Slavery — Intercession 
for  a  Fugitive — Paul's  Argument  an  Illustration  of  Redemption  in 
Christ — Abundant  Reception  of  the  Sinner. 

This  is  a  very  brief  and  a  very  beautiful  Epistle.  I  will 
first  explain  the  circumstances  under  which  it  was  v/rit- 
ten,  and  then  we  will  read  the  Epistle  and  mark  how  the 
writer  adjusts  himself  to  the  circumstances.  Then  I 
have  a  word  to  say  about  the  Epistle  as  an  illustration 
of  redemption. 

If  the  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians  be  the  lyric,  the  Epistle 
to  Philemon  is  the  idyll  of  the  New  Testament.  There 
is  no  Epistle  in  the  Bible  which  combines  as  much 
brevity  with  as  much  beauty  as  this  Epistle.  Let  us 
understand  that  the  word  "  Philemon  "  means  "  love,"  or 
"friendship,"  and  that  the  word  "Onesimus"  means 
"profitable."  Onesimus  was  a  slave  who  had  stolen 
from  Philemon,  and  then  run  away  from  him.  Paul  had 
found  him,  or  he  had  found  Paul.  He  had  been  con- 
verted and  baptized  by  him  ;  had  ministered  to  him  in 
his  bonds,  and  had  become  very  dear  to  him,  so  that  the 
Apostle  speaks  of  him  as  his  own  bowels — as  his  own 
vital  organs — as  his  second  self — as  his  son  whom  he 
had  begotten  in  his  bonds — as  a  brother  beloved.  Now 
he  sends  him  back — this  fugitive  slave  and  thief — to  his 
master,  and  he  says  to  that  master  :  "  If  thou  count  me 
a  partner  (that  is,  a  very  intimate  friend,  or  a  part  of 
thyself),  receive  him  as  myself."  Philemon  was  a  very 
(io6) 


PAULS   EPISTLE   TO    PHILEMON.  I07 

hospitable  man — a  man  probably  in  affluent  circum- 
stances, who  had  been  accustomed  to  receive  the  saints 
in  their  affliction,  and  to  comfort  them  in  the  Lord.  He 
had  refreshed  the  saints,  and  now  the  Apostle  says  : 
"  Tliis  man  is  a  part  of  me,  so  that  in  receiving  him  you 
are  going  to  refresh  me." 

Let  me  say  further:  The  Roman  law  made  no  pro- 
vision v/hatever  for  any  right  of  asylum  in  a  slave.  The 
fleeing  slave  was  called  fugitiviis.  He  was  subject  to  a 
special  penalty.  The  law  made  the  master  absolute — 
gave  him  absolute  ownership.  The  law  did  concede  to 
the  slave  one  right,  and  one  only — the  right  of  appeal  ; 
that  is  to  say,  he  could  go  to  the  most  intimate  friend 
of  his  master,  not  for  concealment,  but  for  intercession. 
The  ov/ner,  though  absolute,  might  be  moved  by  the 
mediation  of  a  friend  ;  and  the  slave  who  appealed  thus 
did  not  incur  the  guilt  or  penalty  of  fugitives.  Another 
thing  about  the  Roman  law  was  this  :  It  allowed  manu- 
mission. That  is,  the  master  might  adopt  the  slave  into 
his  own  family — he  might  make  him  a  son  ;  or  might, 
as  it  were,  beget  him  in  hi«  bonds  ;  and  he  might  set 
him  free. 

Now,  let  us  read  the  Epistle.  Verses  1-3  are  the  salu- 
tation ;  4-7,  the  prelude  ;  8-17,  the  request ;  and  18-21, 
the  epilogue.  "  Paul,  a  prisoner  ....  unto  Philemon, 
our  dearly  beloved  and  fellow-laborer."  Here  is  a  ref- 
erence to  the  intimate  relation  between  Paul  and  Phile- 
mon, which  made  it  proper  that  the  former  should  act 
as  an  intercessor.  By  the  way,  let  me  speak  of  the 
names  by  which  the  friend  was  known.  He  was  known, 
first,  as ' precator^  or  one  who  pleads  ;  and,  secondly,  as 
genttor,  or  one  who  begets.  "  Grace  be  unto  you  and 
peace,"  etc.  "Wherefore,  though  I  might  be  much  bold 
in  Christ  to  enjoin  thee  that  which  is  convenient,  yet  I 
beseech  thee."     You  see,  here  Paul  becomes  precaior  or 


*l68  A  COLLEGE   OF   COLLEGES. 

intercessor.  T\\^  precator  becomes  ganitor  also,  Implying 
manumission  by  adoption.  Paul  speaks  of  Onesimus  as 
his  son.  "I  beseech  thee  for  my  son  Onesimus,  whom 
I  have  begotten  in  my  bonds  ;  which  in  time  past  was 
to  thee  unprofitable,  but  now  profitable  " — a  true  Onesi- 
mus— "to  thee  and  to  me:  whom  I  have  sent  again: 
thou,  therefore,  receive  him,  that  is,  mine  own  bowels." 
He  was  altogether  identified  with  the  object  of  his  in- 
tercession. "  Whom  I  would  have  retained  with  me, 
that  in  thy  stead  he  might  have  ministered  unto  me  in 
the  bonds  of  the  Gospel."  The  slave  was  a  true  Onesi 
mus  to  Paul.  "  But  without  thy  mind,  would  I  do  noth- 
ing :  that  thy  benefit  (a  reference  again  to  the  idea  of 
profit)  should  not  be  as  it  were  of  necessity,  but  will- 
ingly. For  perhaps  he  therefore  departed  for  a  season." 
See  how  mildly  he  puts  the  running  away — "departed 
for  a  season."  "Therefore" — that  is,  it  was  doubtless 
providential.  "  That  thou  shouldst  receive  him  forever. 
Not  now  as  a  servant  (or  slave),  but  above  a  servant,  a 
brother  beloved,  specially  to  me,  but  how  much  more 
unto  thee,  both  in  the  flesh,  and  in  the  Lord  (a  spiritual 
brother,  bound  both  by  temporal  and  spiritual  ties).  If 
thou  count  me,  therefore,  a  partner,  receive  him  as  my- 
self." These  words,  "  I  beseech  thee  receive  him  as  my- 
self," are  the  key  to  the  entire  Epistle.  "If  he  hath 
wronged  thee,  or  oweth  thee  aught,  put  that  on  my  ac- 
count :  I,  Paul,  ....  will  repay  it ;  albeit  I  do  not  say 
to  thee  how  thou  owest  unto  me  even  thine  own  self  be- 
sides. Yea,  brother,  let  me  have  joy  of  thee  in  the  Lord 
(that  is,  by  the  reception  of  Onesimus)."  .... 

There  are  four  ways  in  which  Christ  is  revealed  in  the 
holy  Scriptures.  The  first  is  by  prophetic  prediction,  of 
which  there  are  333  distinct  instances  in  the  Old  Testa- 
ment. The  second  is  by  direct  statement,  which  we 
may  call  preceptive  revelation — not   in   prophecy,  bui 


Paul's  epistle  to  piiilemon.  109 

precept :  the  direct  statement  of  revelation.  The  third 
is  by  type — typical  revelation — as  in  the  ceremonies  and 
rites  of  the  Old  Testament,  and  also  in  some  of  its  his- 
torical personages.  The  fourth  way  is  by  illustration. 
I  draw  a  distinction  between  this  and  typical  teaching. 
Certain  things  are  types;  other  things  are  allegories. 
Some  things  were  not  distinctly  stated  to  be  types  of 
Christ,  which  nevertheless  we  are  justified  in  taking  as 
illustrations.  This  Epistle  to  Philemon  I  believe  to  be 
an  illustration  of  redemption.  You  can  take  the  Epistle 
to  Philemon  and  preach  from  it  Jesus  Christ  in  all  the 
great  features  of  redemption.  I  regard  it  as  the  most 
remarkable  Epistle  in  the  New  Testament,  considering 
its  brevity. 

Now  look.  The  sinner  is  the  property  of  God.  He 
has.  fled  from  God,  and  is  now  under  the  curse  of  alien- 
ation and  separation.  Not  only  so,  but  he  has  wronged 
God,  and  robbed  Him  besides.  The  law  of  God  pro- 
vides no  right  of  asylum  for  the  sinner.  He  is  the  ab- 
solute property  of  God — both  a  bond-slave  and  a  crim- 
inal. This  ownership  is  not  voided  by  the  sinner's  flight. 
He  may  break  the  relationship  he  sustains  to  God,  but 
he  cannot  break  the  obligation.  There  is  but  one  thing 
conceded  to  him — that  is,  the  right  of  appeal.  He  may 
run  to  Christ,  who  is  the  partner  of  God,  and  through 
His  intercession  seek  mercy.  Jesus  receives  him.  He 
comforts  him.  Not  only  so,  but  He  manumits  him  by 
adoption — begets  him  in  bonds  as  His  own  son.  And 
then  He  sends  him  back  to  the  Father  to  be  received 
as  Himself,  and  He  says  :  "  If  he  hath  wronged  Thee, 
or  oweth  Thee  aught,  put  that  on  My  account";  and 
with  His  own  signature,  written  in  blood,  He  says  :  "  I 
will  repay."  Not  only  this  :  We  have  the  abundance  of 
grace  indicated  to  us  in  the  illustration — "  Knowing  that 
Thou  wilt  also  do  more  than  I  say."     The  reception  of 


no  A  COLLEGE   OF   COLLEGES. 

the  sinner  is  exceedingly  abundant — more  than  he  can 
ask  or  think. 

Let  me  read  a  verse  which  seems  to  me  specially  to 
indicate  the  illustrative  power  of  this  Epistle.  It  is  the 
loth  :  "I  beseech  thee  for  my  son  Onesimus,  whom  I 
have  begotten  in  my  bonds."  Here  we  see  Christ  the 
pr€cato)\  or  intercessor.  "  Whom  I  have  begotten  in.  my 
bonds."  Here  he  is  the  ^^;z//<?r,  or  begetter.  "Which  in 
time  past  was  to  thee  unprofitable,  but  now  profitable  to 
me  and  to  thee  :  whom  I  have  sent  again."  The  sinner 
comes  back  to  Christ  a  redeemed  soul,  to  God  the 
Father.  "  Thou  therefore  receive  him,  that  is,  mine  own 
bowels."  See  the  identification  of  Christ  with  the  sinner. 
"  Whom  I  would  have  retained  with  me  ....  but  without 
thy  mind  would  I  do  nothing."  See  the  identification  of 
God  with  Christ.  Now  read  these  verses — the  15th  to 
the  2 1  St — carefully  over  again,  and  observe  their  signifi- 
cance in  this  connection. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

MODES   OF    SANCTIFICATION. 

Address  by  Prof.  Henrj''  Drummond — The  Pursuit  of  Holiness — 
Futile  Schemes — A  Simple  and  Certain  Method — Proximity  to 
Christ — Cause  and  Effect — Consequences  of  Standing  in  His 
Presence  and  Reflecting  His  Image — Changes  Produced  in  Human 
Character. 

God  is  all  for  quality  ;  man  is  for  quantity.  But  the 
immediate  need  of  the  world  at  this  moment  is  not  more 
of  us,  but,  if  I  may  use  the  expression,  a  better  brand  of 
us.  To  secure  ten  men  of  an  improved  type  would  be 
better  than  if  we  had  ten  thousand  of  the  average  Chris- 
tians distributed  all  over  the  world.  There  is  such  a 
thing  in  the  evangelistic  sense  as  winning  the  whole 
world  and  losing  our  own  soul.  And  our  first  consider- 
ation is  our  own  life — our  own  spiritual  relations  to  God 
— our  own  likeness  to  Christ.  And  I  am  anxious  for  a 
few  moments  to-night  to  look  at  the  right  and  the  wrong 
way  of  becoming  like  Christ — of  becoming  better  men  : 
the  right  and  the  wrong  way  of  sanctification. 

One  of  the  futile  methods  of  sanctifying  ourselves  is 
trying — effort — struggle — agonizing.  I  suppose  you 
have  all  tried  that,  and  I  appeal  to  your  own  life  when 
I  ask  if  it  has  not  failed.  Crossing  the  Atlantic  the  other 
day,  the  Etruria^  in  which  I  was  sailing,  suddenly 
stopped  in  mid-ocean — something  had  suddenly  broken 
down.  There  were  a  thousand  people  on  board  that 
ship.  Do  3^ou  think  we  could  have  made  it  go  on  if  we 
had  all  gathered  together  and  pushed  against  the  sides 
or  against  the  masts  ?    When  a  man  hopes  to  sanctify 

(III) 


112  A   COLLEGE   OF   COLLEGES. 

himself  by  trying,  he  is  like  a  man  trying  to  make 
the  boat  go  that  carries  him  by  pushing  it — he  is  like  a 
man  drowning  in  the  water  and  trying  to  save  himself 
by  pulling  the  hair  of  his  own  head.  It  is  impossible. 
Christ  held  up  that  mode  of  sanctification  almost  to  ridi- 
cule when  He  said  :  "Which  of  you  by  taking  thought 
can  add  a  cubit  to  his  stature  ? "  Put  down  that  method 
forever  as  being  futile. 

Another  man  says  :  "  That  is  not  my  way.  I  have 
given  up  that.  Trying  has  its  place,  but  that  is  not 
where  it  comes  in.  My  method  is  to  concentrate  on 
some  single  sin,  and  to  work  away  upon  that  until  I 
have  got  rid  of  it."  Now,  in  the  first  place,  life  is  too 
short  for  that  process  to  succeed.  Their  name  is  legion. 
In  the  second  place,  that  leaves  the  rest  of  the  nature 
for  a  long  time  untouched.  In  the  third  place,  it  does 
not  touch  the  seed  or  root  of  the  disease.  If  you  dam 
up  a  stream  at  one  place,  it  will  simply  overflow  higher 
up.  And  for  a  fourth  reason  :  Religion  does  not  consist 
.n  negatives — in  stopping  this  sin  and  stopping  that  sin. 

Another  man  says  :  "  Very  well ;  I  am  not  trying  to 
stop  sins  in  succession  ;  but  I  am  trying  to  copy  the 
character  of  Christ,  bit  by  bit,  point  by  point,  into  my 
life."  The  difficulty  about  that  method  is,  that  it  is 
"mechanical.  It  makes  an  overbalanced  life  ;  and  there 
is  always  the  mark  of  the  tool  about  such  a  life — about 
such  a  nature.  It  is  like  a  wax-flower  as  compared  with 
a  natural  flower. 

There  is  another  method.  I  suppose  you  have  all 
tried  it.  I  have.  It  is  to  get  a  book  of  blank  paper 
and  make  columns  for  the  days  of  the  week,  and 
then  put  down  a  list  of  the  virtues  with  spaces 
against  each  for  marks,  and  then  follow  it  up  with  a  great 
many  rules,  and  determine  to  live  by  rule.  You  remem- 
bsr  that  is  how  Franklin  did  ;  and  I  suppose  that  many 


MODES  OF  SANCTIFICATION.  II3 

men  in  this  day,  and  perhaps  many  men  here,  could  tell 
how  they  had  hung  up  in  their  bedroom,  or  laid  away  in 
their  secret  drawers,  the  rules  they  had  drawn  up  for 
themselves.  Again  I  appeal  to  life.  You  bear  me  wit- 
ness that  that  method  failed.  And  it  failed  for  very 
matter-of-fact  reasons — likely  because  you  forgot  the 
rules,  As  a  matter  of  fact,  that  is  a  false  method  of 
sanctitication,  and,  like  all  the  others,  must  come  to 
nothing. 

All  these  methods  that  I  have  named  are  perfectly 
human,  perfectly  natural,  perfectly  ignorant,  and  per- 
fectly futile.  I  do  not  say  we  must  abandon  them  ;  but 
they  are  futile  to  accomplish  the  real  end  that  we  seek. 

Now,  what  is  the  true  method  ?  There  is  one  method 
which  is  as  simple  and  effectual  as  the  others  are  com- 
plicated and  useless.  It  is  laid  down  in  a  single  verse  in 
the  Bible  ;  and  it  is  so  practical  that  any  man  can  apply 
it  to  his  own  life,  and  as  certain  in  its  action  as  a  law  of 
Nature.  It  is  a  case  of  cause  and  effect.  The  verse  I 
speak  of  is  in  2d  Corinthians  ;  and  I  shall  read  it  from 
the  immensely  improved  text  in  this  instance  of  the 
Revised  Version — the  i8th  verse  of  the  3d  chapter  of 
2d  Corinthians  :  "  We  all,  with  unveiled  face,  reflecting 
in  a  mirror  the  glory  of  the  Lord,  are  changed  into  the 
same  image  from  glory  to  glory  even  as  by  the  Lord,  the 
Spirit." 

Observe:  "We  are  changed^  The  mistake  we  have 
been  making  is  that  we  have  been  trying  to  change  oux 
selves.  That  is  not  possible.  We  are  changed  into  the 
same  image.  Now,  if  we  are  to  get  the  benefit  of  the 
relief  that  these  words  ought  to  give  to  the  man  who  has 
been  spending  half  .his  life  and  half  his  nights  in  a  fren- 
.?ied  struggle  for  holiness  without  having  fulfilled  the 
necessary  conditions,  let  us  carefully  mark  the  condition 
demanded  here.     For  that  condition  being  fulfilled,  we 


114  A   COLLEGE   GF   COLLEGES. 

are  infallibly  changed  into  the  same  image.  The  con* 
dition  is  that  we  reflect  in  a  mirror  the  glory  of  Christ. 
That  condition  I  shall  speak  of  in  a  moment ;  but  one 
word  requires  an  explanation  in  passing.  "Refleciing 
in  a  mirror  the  glory  of  the  Lord."  What  is  the  glor}' 
of  the  Lord?  The  word  "glory"  suggests  effulgence- 
radiance.  It  recalls  the  halo  that  the  old  masters 
delighted  to  paint  around  the  heads  of  their  saints  and 
Ecce  Homos.  But  this  is  all  material.  What  does  that 
halo,  that  radiance,  symbolize  ?  It  symbolizes  the  most 
radiant  and  beautiful  thing  in  man,  as  in  the  Man  Christ 
Jesus  ;  and  that  is  character.  Character.  The  glory  of 
Christ  is  in  character.  I  make  a  challenge.  Does  any 
man  know  anything  more  glorious  in  man  or  in  God 
than  character?  God's  name  was  His  character — Him- 
self. Do  not  be  misled  by  the  vagueness  of  that  word 
"  glory "  in  modern  usage.  We  lose  the  force  of  it 
because  we  do  not  employ  the  word  in  current  speech. 
When  it  is  in  your  mind,  substitute  "character"  for 
"  glory."  "  We  all,  with  unveiled  face,  reflecting  in  a 
mirror  the  character  of  Christ,  are  changed  into  the 
i&ame  image  from  character  to  character  " — from  the  char- 
acter a  little  better  to  the  character  a  little  better  still, 
the  character  getting  nobler  and  nobler  by  slight  and 
imperceptible  degrees.  Now,  may  I  read  that  verse  once 
more  with  all  these  meanings  brought  out  ?  "  We  all, 
with  unveiled  face,  reflecting  in  a  mirror  the  character 
of  the  Lord,  are  changed  into  the  same  image  from  char- 
acter to  character." 

How  to  get  the  character :  Stand  in  Christ's  presence 
and  mirror  His  character,  and  you  will  be  changed  in 
spite  of  yourself,  and  unknown  to  yourself,  into  the 
same  image  from  character  to  character.  Every  man 
here  is  a  reflector.  That  is  the  principle  upon  which 
this  is  based.     In  your  face  you  reflect  your  nationalit}'; 


MODES   OF   SANCTIFICATION.  II5 

I  ask  a  man  a  question,  and  I  find  out  in  ten  seconds 
whether  he  is  a  Northerner,  or  a  Southerner,  or  a  Cana- 
dian, or  an  Englishman.  Ke  has  reflected  in  his  veiy 
voice  his  country.  I  ask  him  another  question,  and  an- 
other, and  another,  and  I  see  reflections  flit  over  the 
mirror  from  all  points  of  the  compass.  I  find  out  in  five 
minutes  that  he  has  a  good  mother.  I  see  reflected  in  a 
mirror  that  he  has  been  reading  Herbert  Spencer,  and 
Huxley,  and  Darwin  ;  and  as  I  go  on  watching  him  as 
he  stands  and  talks  to  me,  his  whole  life  is  reflected 
back  from  it.  I  see  the  kind  of  set  he  has  been  living 
in — the  kind  of  companions  he  has  had.  He  cannot 
help  reflecting.  He  cannot  help  himself  showing  the 
environment  in  which  he  has  lived — the  influences  that 
have  played  around  him.  As  Tennyson  says  :  "  I  am  a 
part  of  all  that  I  have  met."  Now,  we  become  like  those 
whom  we  habitually  reflect.  I  could  prove  to  you  from 
science  that  that  applies  even  to  the  physical  framework 
of  animals — that  they  are  influenced  and  organically 
changed  by  the  environment  in  which  they  live.  I  shall 
not  take  up  your  time  with  that  now  ;  but  you  all  know 
how  every  man  is  influenced  by  the  people  and  the 
things  that  surround  him.  I  remember  two  fellow-stu- 
dents who  lived  for  eight  years  together,  and  by  the  end 
of  that  time  they  had  become  so  like  one  another  in 
their  methods  of  thinking,  in  their  opinions,  in  their 
ways  of  looking  at  things,  that  they  were  practically 
one.  When  you  asked  a  question  it  was  immaterial  to 
which  you  addressed  it,  and  when  you  made  a  rem.ark 
you  knew  exactly  the  impression  it  would  make  on  both 
of  them.  They  had  been  changed  into  the  same  image. 
There  Vv^as  a  savor  of  Jonathan  about  David,  and  a  savor 
of  David  about  Jonathan.  You  sometimes  see  husband 
and  wife,  after  a  half  century  of  fellowship,  changed  en- 
tirely into  the  same  image.     They  have  gone  on  reflect- 


Il6  A   COLLEGE    OF   COLLEGES. 

ing  one  another  so  often — without  tr3ang-,  and  perliaps 
even  trying  to  prevent  it — that  they  have  become  largely 
made  up  of  the  same  qualities  and  characteristics.  That 
is  the  grand  doctrine  of  influence — that  we  become  like 
those  whom  we  habitually  associate  with. 

What,  then,  is  the  practical  lesson  ?  It  is  obvious. 
Make  Christ  your  most  constant  companion.  Be  more  under 
His  influence  than  under  any  other  influence.  My  fel- 
low-students, Ave  minutes  spent  in  the  companionship 
of  Christ  every  morning — ay,  two  minutes,  if  it  is  face 
to  face  and  heart  to  heart — will  change  your  whole  day, 
will  make  every  thought  and  feeling  different,  will  ena- 
ble you  to  do  things  for  His  sake  that  you  would  not 
have  done  for  your  own  sake,  or  for  any  one's  sake. 
And  the  supreme  and  the  sole  secret  of  a  sanctified  na- 
ture and  a  Christlike  character  and  life,  is  to  be  ever 
with  Christ  and  reflecting  Him — catching  His  nature, 
His  mind  and  spirit,  insensibly  and  unconsciously,  by 
mere  proximity  and  contagion. 

You  say,  "  How  can  a  man  make  Christ,  the  absent 
Christ,  his  most  constant  companion?"  Why;  friend- 
ship is  a  spiritual  thing.  Think  over  it  for  a  moment, 
and  you  will  find  that  your  friend  influences  you  just 
about  as  much  in  his  absence  as  when  he  is  with  you. 
Christ  might  have  influenced  us  more,  perhaps,  if  He 
had  been  here,  and  yet  I  do  not  know.  It  would  have 
been  an  ineffable  experience  to  have  lived  at  that  time — 

"  I  think  when  I  read  that  sweet  story  of  old, 
How  when  Jesus  was  here  among  men, 
He  took  little  children  like  lambs  to  His  fold, 
I  should  like  to  have  been  with  Him  then. 

"  r  wish  that  His  hand  had  been  laid  on  my  head, 
That  His  arms  had  been  thrown  around  me, 
And  that  I  had  seen  His  kind  look  when  He  said, 
'  Let  the  little  ones  come  unto  Me.' " 


MODES  OF  SANCTIFICATION.  Ii; 

And  yet,  if  Christ  were  to  come  into  the  world  again, 
not  ten  of  us  probably  would  ever  have  a  chance  of 
meeting  Him.  I  have  never  seen  my  own  Queen  in  our 
little  country  of  Britain.  There  are  millions  of  her  sub- 
jects who  have  never  seen  her.  And  there  would  be 
thousands  of  the  subjects  of  the  Lord  Jesus  who  could 
never  get  within  speaking  distance  of  Him  if  He  came 
to  the  world  now.  So  you  remember  He  said  :  "  It  is 
expedient  for  you  {not  for  Me)  that  I  go  away";  because 
by  going  away  He  could  really  be  nearer  to  us  than  He 
would  have  been  if  He  had  stayed  here.  It  would  have 
been  geographically  and  physically  impossible  for  most 
of  us  to  have  been  influenced  b}?-  His  person  had  He  re- 
mained here.  And  so  our  communion  with  Him  is  a 
spiritual  companionship  ;  but  not  different  from  most 
companionships,  which,  when  you  press  them  down  to 
the  roots,  you  will  find  to  be  essentially  spiritual.  All 
friendship,  all  love,  human  and  Divine,  are  spiritual. 
So  that  it  is  no  difficulty  in  reflecting  the  character  of 
Christ  that  we  have  never  been  in  visible  contact  with 
Him.  He  does  not  appeal  to  the  eye  ;  He  appeals  to 
the  soul  :  and  is  reflected  not  from  the  body,  but  from 
the  soul.  The  thing  you  love  in  a  friend  is  not  the 
thing  you  see.  I  knew  of  a  very  beautiful  character — 
one  of  the  loveliest  characters  which  had  ever  bloomed 
on  this  earth.  It  was  the  character  of  a  young  girl. 
She  always  wore  about  her  neck  a  little  locket,  but  no- 
body was  allowed  to  open  it.  None  of  her  companions 
ever  knew  what  it  contained,  until  one  day  she  v.'as  laid 
down  with  a  dangerous  illness,  when  one  of  them  was 
granted  permission  to  look  into  the  locket ;  and  she  saw 
written  there  :  "  Who7?i  having  not  seen  I  love.'*  That  was 
the  secret  of  her  beautiful  life.  She  had  been  changed 
into  the  same  image. 
Let  me  say  a  word  or  two  about  the  effects  which 


Il8  A  COLLEGE  OF  COLLEGES. 

necessarily  must  follow  from  this  contact,  or  fellowship 
with  Christ.  I  need  not  quote  to  you  the  texts  upon 
the  subject — the  texts  about  abiding  with  Christ — "  He 
that  abideth  in  Him  sinneth  not."  You  cannot  sin  when 
you  are  standing  in  front  of  Christ.  You  simply  cannot 
do  it.  "  Whosoever  committeth  sin  hath  not  seen  Him, 
neither  known  Him."  Sin  is  abashed  and  disappears  in 
the  presence  of  Christ.  Again  :  "  If  ye  abide  in  Me,  and 
My  words  abide  in  you,  ye  shall  ask  what  ye  will,  and  it 
shall  be  done  unto  you."  Think  of  that !  That  is  an- 
other inevitable  consequence.  And  there  is  yet  another  : 
"  He  that  abideth  in  Me,  the  same  bringeth  forth  much 
fruit."  Sinlessness — answered  prayer — "  much  fruit." 
But  in  addition  to  these  things,  see  how  many  of  the 
highest  Christian  virtues  and  experiences  necessarily 
flow  from  the  assumption  of  that  attitude  toward  Christ. 
For  instance,  the  moment  you  assume  that  relation  to 
Christ  you  begin  to  know  what  the  child-spirit  is.  You 
stand  before  Christ,  and  He  becomes  your  teacher,  and 
you  instinctively  become  docile.  Then  you  learn  also 
to  become  charitable  and  tolerant  ;  because  you  are 
learning  of  Him,  and  He  is  "meek  and  lowly  in  heart," 
and  you  catch  that.  That  is  a  bit  of  His  character  being 
reflected  into  yours.  Instead  of  being  critical  and  seJf- 
asserting,  you  become  humble  and  have  the  mind  of  a 
little  child.  I  think,  further,  the  only  way  of  learning 
what  faith  is,  is  to  know  Christ  and  be  in  His  company. 
You  hear  sermons  about  the  nine  different  kinds  of 
faith — distinctions  drawn  between  the  right  kind  of 
faith  and  the  wrong — and.  sermons  telling  you  how  to 
get  faith.  So  far  as  I  can  see,  there  is  only  one  way  in 
which  faith  is  got,  and  it  is  the  same  in  the  religious 
world  as  it  is  in  the  world  of  men  and  women.  I  learn 
to  trust  you,  my  brother,  just  as  I  get  to  know  you,  and 
neither  more  nor  less  ;  and  you  get  to  trust  me  just  as 


MODES   OF  SANCTIFICATION.  II9 

you  get  to  know  me.  I  do  not  trust  you  as  a  stranger. 
But  as  I  come  into  contact  with  you,  and  watch  you, 
and  live  with  you,  I  find  out  that  you  are  trustworthy 
and  I  come  to  trust  myself  to  you,  and  to  lean  upon  you. 
But  I  do  not  do  that  to  a  stranger.  The  way  to  trust 
Christ  is  to  know  Christ.  You  cannot  help  trusting 
Him  then.  You  are  changed.  By  knowing  Him  faith 
is  begotten  in  you,  as  cause  and  effect.  To  trust  Him 
without  knowing  Him,  as  thousands  do,  is  not  faith,  but 
eredulity.  I  believe  a  great  deal  of  prayer  for  faith  is 
thrown  away.  What  we  should  pray  for  is  that  we 
should  be  able  to  fulfil  the  condition,  and  when  we  have 
fulfilled  the  condition  the  faith  necessarily  follows.  The 
way,  therefore,  to  increase  our  faith  is  to  increase  oui 
intimacy  with  Christ.  We  trust  Him  more  and  more 
the  more  we  know  Him. 

And  then  another  immediate  effect  of  this  way  of 
sanctifying  the  character  is  the  tranquillity  that  it  brings 
over  the  Christian  life.  How  disturbed  and  distressed 
and  anxious  Christian  people  are  about  their  growth  ia 
grace  !  Now,  the  moment  you  give  that  over  into 
Christ's  care— the  moment  you  see  that  you  are  being 
changed — that  anxiety  passes  away.  You  see  that  it 
must  follow  by  an  inevitable  process  and  by  a  natural 
law  if  you  fulfil  the  simple  condition  ;  so  that  peace  is 
the  reward  of  that  life  and  fellowship  with  Christ. 
Peace  is  not  a  thing  that  comes  down  solid,  as  it  were, 
and  is  fitted  somehow  into  a  man's  nature.  We  have 
very  gross  conceptions  of  peace,  joy,  and  other  Chris- 
tian experiences  ;  but  they  are  all  simply  effects  of 
causes.  We  fulfil  the  condition  ;  we  cannot  help  the 
experiences  following.  I  have  spoken  about  peace  ;  but 
how  about  joy?  If  you  turn  to  the  15th  of  John  v/hen 
you  go  home  you  will  see  what  I  am  about  to  tell  you. 
You  will  remember  that  when  Christ  gave  His  disciples 


J  20  A  COLLEGE  OF  COLLEGES. 

the  Parable  of  the  Vine,  He  said  :  ^'  I  will  tell  you  why 
I  have  told  you  that  parable.  It  is  that  your  joy  might 
be  full."  Did  you  ever  notice  that  ?  He  did  not  merely 
throw  it  into  space  as  a  fine  illustration.  It  was  not 
merely  a  statement  of  the  doctrine  of  the  indwelling 
Christ.  It  was  that,  but  it  was  more.  "  These  words 
have  I  spoken  unto  you,"  He  said,  "  that  My  joy  might 
remain  in  you,  and  that  your  joy  might  be  full."  That 
is  the  way  to  get  joy.     It  is  to  abide  in  Christ. 

There,  you  see  :  Out  of  this  simple  relationship  we 
have  faith,  we  have  peace,  we  have  joy.  Many  other 
things  follow.  A  man's  usefulness  depends  to  a  large 
extent  upon  his  fellowship  with  Christ.  That  is  obvious. 
Only  Christ  can  influence  the  world  ;  but  all  that  the 
world  sees  of  Christ  is  what  it  sees  of  you  and  me. 
Christ  said  :  "  The  world  seeth  Me  no  more,  but  ye  see 
Me."  You  see  Him,  and  standing  in  front  of  Him,  reflect 
Him,  and  the  world  sees  the  reflection.  It  cannot  see 
Him.  So  that  a  Christian's  usefulness  depends  solely 
upon  that  relationship. 

Now,  I  have  only  pointed  out  a  few  of  the  things  that 
follow  from  the  standing  before  Christ — from  the  abid- 
ing in  Christ.  You  will  find  if  you  run  over  the  texts 
about  abiding  in  Christ,  many  other  things  will  suggest 
themselves  in  the  same  relation.  Almost  everything  in 
Christian  experience  and  character  follows,  and  follows 
necessarily,  from  standing  before  Christ  and  reflecting 
His  character.  But  the  supreme  consummation  is  that 
we  are  changed  into  the  same  image,  "  even  as  by  the  Lord 
the  Spirit."  That  is  to  say,  that  in  some  way,  unknown 
to  us,  but  possibly  not  more  mysterious  than  the  doc- 
trine of  personal  influence,  we  are  changed  into  the 
image  of  Christ. 

I  should  just  like  to  add,  in  drawing  to  a  close,  that 
ills  method  cannot  fail.     I  am  not  setting  before  you  an 


MODES   OF  SANCTIFICATION.  121 

Opinion  or  a  theory  ;  but  this  is  a  certainly  successful 
means  of  sanctification.  "  We  all,  with  unveiled  face, 
reflecting  in  a  mirror  the  glory  of  Christ  (the  character 
of  Christ)  assuredly — without  any  miscarriage — without 
any  possibility  of  miscarriage — are  changed  into  the 
same  image."  It  is  an  immense  thing  to  be  anchored 
in  some  great  principle  like  that.  Emerson  says  :  "  The 
hero  is  the  man  who  is  immovably  centred."  Get 
immovably  centred  in  that  doctrine  of  sanctification. 
Do  not  be  carried  away  by  the  hundred  and  one  theories 
of  sanctification  that  are  floating  about  in  the  religious 
literature  of  the  country  at  the  present  time  ;  but  go  to 
the  bottom  of  the  thing  for  yourself,  and  see  the 
rationale  of  it  for  yourself,  and  I  think  you  will  come  to 
see  that  it  is  a  matter  of  cause  and  effect,  and  that  if  you 
will  fulfil  the  condition  laid  down  by  Christ,  the  effect 
must  follow  by  a  natural  law. 

What  a  prospect !  To  be  changed  into  the  same 
image.  Just  think  of  that  !  That  is  what  we  are  here 
for.  That  is  what  we  are  elected  for.  Not  to  be  saved, 
in  the  common  acceptation,  but  "whom  He  did  fore- 
know He  also  did  predestinate  to  be  conformed  to  the 
image  of  His  Son."  Not  merely  to  be  saved,  but  to  he 
conforined  to  the  image  of  His  Son.  Conserve  that  princi- 
ple. And  as  we  must  spend  time  in  cultivating  our 
earthly  friendships  if  we  are  to  have  their  blessings,  so 
we  must  spend  time  in  cultivating  the  fellowship  and 
companionship  of  Christ.  And  there  is  nothing  so  much 
worth  taking  away  from  this  conference  as  a  profounder 
sense  of  what  is  to  be  had  by  living  in  communion  with 
Christ,  and  by  getting  nearer  to  Him.  It  will  matter 
much  if  we  take  away  with  us  some  of  the  thoughts  about 
theology,  and  some  of  the  new  light  that  has  been  shed 
upon  the  text  of  Scripture  ;  it  will  matter  infinitely 
more  if  our  fellowship  with  the  Lord  Jesus  become  a 
6 


122  A  COLLEGE  OF  COLLEGES. 

little  closer,  and  our  theory  of  holy  living  a  little 
more  rationaL  And  then  as  we  go  forth,  men  will 
take  knowledge  of  us — not  that  we  have  been  with 
Mr.  Moody,  not  that  we  have  been  with  our  fellow- 
Christians  at  this  conference  at  Northfield,  but  that 
we  have  been  with  Jesus,  and  as  we  reflect  Him  upon 
them,  they  will  begin  to  be  changed  into  the  same 
image.  It  seems  to  me  the  preaching  is  of  infinitely 
smaller  account  than  the  life  which  mirrors  Christ. 
That  is  bound  to  tell  ;  without  speech  or  language — 
like  the  voices  of  the  stars.  It  throws  out  its  impres- 
sions upon  every  side.  The  one  simple  thing  we  have 
to  do  is  to  be  there — in  the  right  relation;  to  go  through 
life  hand  in  hand  with  Him  ;  to  have  Him  in  the  room 
with  us,  and  keeping  us  company  wherever  we  go  ;  to 
depend  upon  Him  and  lean  upon  Him,  and  so  have  His 
life  reflected  in  the  fullness  of  its  beauty  and  perfection 
into  ours.  There  was  a  famous  sculptor  in  Paris  who 
executed  a  great  work.  It  stands  to-day  in  the  Gallerie 
des  Beaux  Arts.  He  was  a  great  genius,  and  this  was 
his  last  work  ;  but  like  many  a  great  genius  he  was  very 
poor,  and  lived  in  a  small  garret.  This  garret  was  his 
workshop,  his  studio,  and  his  bedroom.  He  had  this 
statue  almost  finished  in  clay,  when  one  night  a  frost 
suddenly  fell  over  Paris.  The  sculptor  lay  on  his  bed, 
with  the  statue  before  him  in  the  centre  of  the  fireless 
room.  As  the  chill  air  came  down  upon  him,  he  saw 
that  if  the  cold  got  more  intense,  the  water  in  the  inter- 
stices of  the  clay  would  freeze,  and  so  the  old  man  rose 
and  heaped  the  bed-clothes  reverently  upon  the  statue. 
In  the  morning  when  his  friends  came  in  they  found  the 
old  sculptor  dead  ;  but  the  image  was  saved  !  That  is 
the  greatest  thing  about  you.  Preserve  that  at  any  cost 
— the  image  into  which  you  are  being  changed  by  the 
unseen  Sculptor,  who  is  every  moment  that  you  arc  in 


MODES   OF  SANCTIFICATION.  123 

His  presence  working  at  that  holy  task.  The  work  of 
creation  is  not  done.  Geology  is  toiling  to-day  still  at 
the  unfinished  earth  ;  and  the  Spirit  of  God  which 
Drooded  upon  the  waters  thousands  of  years  ago,  is  busy 
now  creating  men,  within  these  commonplace  lives  of 
ours,  in  the  image  of  God. 


CHAPTER  XII. 


LOVE — THE    SUPREME   GIFT. 


Address  by  Professor  Henry  Drummond — What  is  the  Highest  Good  ? 
—Faith  Surpassed  by  Love — The  "  Fulfilling  of  the  Law" — Love 
Contrasted,  Analyzed,  and  Defended — How  to  Get  Love — Com- 
panionship with  Christ — An  Eternal  Possession — Love  and  Life. 

Every  one  of  you  has  asked  himself  the  great  ques- 
tion of  antiquity  as  of  the  modern  world  :  What  is  the 
suminum  bomwi — the  supreme  good  ?  You  have  life  be- 
fore you.  That  is  the  burning  question  for  you  to  face  : 
What  is  the  supreme  object  of  desire — the  supreme  gift 
to  covet  ?  We  have  been  accustomed  to  be  told  that  the 
greatest  thing  in  the  religious  world  was  faith.  That 
has  been  the  key-note  for  centuries  of  the  evangelical 
religion  ;  and  we  have  learned  to  look  upon  that  as  the 
greatest  thing  in  the  world.  Well ;  we  are  wrong.  If 
we  have  been  told  that,  we  have  been  told  wrong.  I 
have  taken  you  in  the  chapter  which  I  have  read  to-night 
[I.  Corinthians  xiii.]  to  Christianity  at  its  source  ;  and 
there  we  have  read,  "  The  greatest  of  these  is  love."  It 
s  not  an  oversight.  Paul  was  speaking  of  faith  just  a 
moment  before.  He  says  :  "  If  I  have  all  faith,  so  that 
I  can  remove  mountains,  and  have  not  love,  I  am  noth- 
ing." It  is  not  an  oversight ;  and  it  is  not  prejudice.  A 
man  is  apt  to  recommend  to  others  his  own  strong  point. 
Love  was  not  Paul's  strong  point.  There  is  a  beautiful 
tenderness  which  the  observing  student  can  detect  as 
Paul  gets  old — growing  and  ripening  all  through  his 
(124) 


LOVE— THE   SUPREME   GIFT.  1 25 

character;  but  the  hand  that  wrote,  "The  greatest  of 
these  is  love,"  when  we  meet  it  first,  is  stained  with 
blood.  Nor  is  Paul  singular  in  singling  out  love  as  the 
suvimtuji  bonum.  The  three  masters  of  Christianity  are 
agreed  about  it.  Peter  says:  "Above  all  things  have 
fervent  love  among  yourselves."  And  John  goes  far- 
ther :  "God  is  love."  And  you  remember  what  Christ 
Himself  said  about  it :  "  Love  is  the  fulfilling  of  the 
law."  Did  you  ever  think  what  He  meant  by  that?  In 
those  days  men  were  working  their  passage  to  Heaven 
by  keeping  the  Ten  Commandments,  and  the  hundred 
and  ten  other  commandments  which  they  had  manufac- 
tured out  of  them.  Christ  came  and  said  :  "  I  will  show 
you  a  more  excellent  way.  If  you  do  one  thing,  you 
will  do  these  hundred  and  ten  things,  without  ever  think- 
ing about  it — unconsciously.  If  you  love,  you  will  ful- 
fil the  whole  law."  And  you  can  readily  see  for  your- 
selves how  that  comes  to  be.  Take  any  of  the  command- 
ments. "  Thou  shalt  have  no  other  gods  before  Me." 
If  a  man  love  God,  you  will  not  have  to  tell  him  that. 
Love  is  the  fulfilling  of  the  law.  "Take  not  His  name 
in  vain."  He  would  never  dream  of  taking  His  name  in 
vain  if  he  loved  Him..  "  Remember  the  Sabbath  day 
to  keep  it  holy."  He  would  be  too  glad  to  have  a  day 
to  meditate  upon  the  object  of  his  affection.  Love 
would  fulfil  aM  these  laws.  And  so,  if  he  loved  man, 
you  would  never  require  to  tell  him  to  honor  his  father 
and  mother.  He  would  do  that  without  thinking  about 
it.  It  would  be  preposterous  to  tell  him  not  to  kill.  He 
would  never  dream  of  it.  It  would  be  absurd  to  tell 
him  not  to  steal.  He  would  never  steal  from  those  he 
loved.  He  would  rather  they  possessed  the  goods  than 
that  he  should  possess  it.  It  v/ould  be  absurd  to  tell 
him  not  to  bear  false  witness  against  his  neighbor.  \\ 
he  loved  him  it  would  be  the  last  thing  he  would  do 


126  A   COLLEGE   OF  COLLEGES. 

And  you  would  never  have  to  tell  him  not  to  covet  what 
his  neighbor  had.  He  would  be  rejoicing  in  his  neigh- 
bor's possessions.  So  you  see,  "love  is  the  fulfilling  of 
the  law." 

Now,  Paul  had  learned  that ;  and  in  this  argument 
which  has  been  read  this  evening  we  have  a  most  won- 
derful account  of  the  summum  bonimi.  We  may  divide  it 
into  three  parts.  In  the  beginning  of  this  little  chapter, 
we  have  love  contrasted  ;  in  the  middle  of  it,  we  have 
love  analyzed  ;  and  towards  the  end  of  it,  we  have  love 
defended  as  the  supreme  gift. 

Paul  begins  by  contrasting  love  with  other  things 
that  men  in  those  days  thought  much  of.  I  shall  not 
attempt  to  go  over  those  things  in  detail.  They  are 
very  obvious.  He  contrasts  it  with  eloquence.  How 
many  men  covet  eloquence  ! — and  what  a  noble  gift  it 
is — the  gift  of  playing  upon  the  minds  and  souls  and 
wills  of  men — of  moulding  them.  Paul  says  :  "  If  I 
speak  with  the  tongues  of  men  and  of  angels,  and  have 
not  love,  I  am  become  as  sounding  brass  or  a  tinkling 
cymbal."  He  contrasts  it  with  prophecy.  He  contrasts 
it  with  mysteries.  He  contrasts  it  with  faith.  Pie  con- 
trasts it  with  charity.  Love  is  greater  than  faith,  be- 
cause the  end  is  greater  than  the  means.  And  love  is 
greater  than  charity,  because  the  whole  is  greater  than 
a  part.  Love  is  greater  than  faith,  because  the  end  is 
greater  than  the  means.  What  is  the  use  of  having  faith  ? 
It  is  to  connect  the  soul  with  God.  And  what  is  the  use 
of  being  connected  with  God  ?  It  is  to  become  like 
God.  For  "  God  is  love."  That  is  to  say,  faith  is  in  or- 
der to  love.  The  end  is  greater  than  the  means.  Love, 
therefore,  obviously  is  greater  than  faith.  It  is  greater 
tlian  ch-.irily,  because  the  whole  is  greater  than  a  part. 
Charity  is  only  a  little  bit  of  love,  and  there  is  a  great 
deal  of  charity  without  love.    It  is  a  very  easy  thing  to  toss 


LOVE — THE   SUPREME   GIFT.  llj 

a  Uventy-five-cent  piece  to  a  beggar.  It  is  a  very  easy 
thipxg  to  do  that  when  the  love  is  in  withholding.  We 
purchase  relief  from  the  sympathetic  feelings  which  are 
aroused  by  the  spectacle  of  misery,  at  the  cost  of  a  quar- 
ter of  a  dollar.  It  is  too  cheap — too  cheap  for  us,  and 
it  is  often  too  dear  for  the  beggar.  We  must  either  do 
more  for  him  or  less.  Then  Paul  contrasts  it  with  sac- 
rifice and  martyrdom  ;  and  I  beg  the  little  band — shall 
I  not  say  the  large  band  ? — of  missionaries  (and  I  have 
the  honor  to  call  some  of  you  by  this  name  for  the  first 
time) — shall  I  not  say  to  you  missionaries,  Remember 
that  though  you  give  your  bodies  to  be  burned,  and 
have  not  love,  it  profits  nothing — nothing  !  You  can 
take  nothing  greater  to  the  heathen  than  the  impress 
and  reflection  of  the  love  of  God  upon  your  own  char- 
acter—  nothing.  That  is  the  universal  language.  It 
will  take  you  years  to  speak  in  Chinese,  or  in  the  dia- 
lects of  India  :  from  the  day  you  land,  that  language  of 
love — understood  by  all,  and  eloquent  to  every  one — 
will  be  going  forth  from  3^ou,  consciously  or  uncon- 
sciously ;  and  it  is  the  man  who  is  the  missionary,  it 
is  not  his  words.  In  the  heart  of  Africa,  among  the 
great  lakes,  I  have  come  across  black  men  and  women 
who  remembered  the  only  white  man  they  ever  saw  be- 
fore— David  Livingstone  ;  and  as  you  cross  his  footsteps 
in  that  dark  Continent,  you  see  men's  faces  light  up  as 
they  speak  of  the  kind  Doctor  who  passed  there  years 
ago.  They  could  not  understand  him  ;  but  they  felt 
the  love  that  beat  in  that  great  heart.  The)'  knew  that 
ii  was  love — that  that  life  was  laying  itself  dov/n  for 
Africa — although  he  spoke  no  word.  Take  into  your 
new  sphere  of  labor  where  you  are  laying  down  your  life 
that  simple  charm,  and  your  life  must  succeed.  You  can 
take  nothing  greater.  You  may  take  every  accomplish- 
ment ;  but  if  you  give  your  body  to  be  burned,  and 


128  A   COLLEGE   OF   COLLEGES. 

have  not  love,  it  will  profit  you  and  the  cause  of  Christ 
nothing. 

After  contrasting  love  with  those  things,  Paul  in  three 
verses,  very  short,  gives  us  an  amazing  analysis  of  what 
this  supreme  thing  is.  I  ask  you  to  look  at  it.  It  is  a 
compound  thing,  he  tells  us.  It  is  like  light.  And  as  you 
have  seen  a  natural  philosopher  take  a  beam  of  light  and 
pass  it  through  his  crystal  prism,  and  as  you  have  seen  it 
come  out  on  the  other  side  of  the  prism  broken  up  into 
its  component  colors — red,  and  blue,  and  yellow,  and 
violet,  and  orange,  and  all  the  colors  of  the  rainbow — so 
Paul  passes  this  thing,  love,  through  the  magnificent 
prism  of  his  inspired  intellect,  and  it  comes  out  on  the 
other  side  broken  up  into  its  elements,  and  in  these 
words  we  have  the  spectrum  of  love — the  analysis  of 
love.  Will  you  observe  Vvdiat  these  things  are?  Will 
you  notice  that  they  have  common  names — that  they  are 
virtues  which  we  hear  about  every  day,  they  are  things 
which  can  be  practised  by  every  man  in  every  circum- 
stance of  life  ;  and  how  by  a  multitude  of  small  things 
and  ordinary  virtues  the  supreme  thing,  the  sunimiim 
ho7itnn^  is  made  up.  The  spectrum  of  love  has  nine  ele- 
ments— nine  colors — nine  ingredients  :  Patience — "love 
suffereth  long."  Kindness — "  and  is  kind."  Generos- 
ity— "  love  envieth  not  "  Humility — "  love  vaunteth  not 
itself,  is  not  puffed  up."  Courtesy — love  "  doth  not  be- 
have itself  unseemly."  Unselfishness — love  **  seeketh 
not  her  own."  Good  temper — love  "  is  not  easily  pro- 
voked." Guilelessness — '^  thinketh  no  evil."  Sincerity — 
*rejoic3th  not  in  iniquity,  but  rejoiceth  in  the  truth," 
Patience  ;  kindness  ;  generosity  ;  humility  ;  courtesy  ; 
unselfishness  ;  good  temper  ;  guilelessness  ;  sincerity — 
these  make  up  che  supreme  gift — the  stature  of  the  per- 
fect man.  We  make  a  great  deal  of  peace  with  God. 
God   says   much   about   peace   on   earth.      "  Good-will 


LOVE — THE   SUPREME   GIFT.  I29 

toward  men."  And  you  will  observe  that  all  these 
things,  all  these  virtues  and  graces,  are  in  relation  to 
men — in  relation  to  life — in  relation  to  the  known  to-day 
and  the  near  to-morrow,  and  not  to  the  unknown  eter- 
nity. There  is  no  time  to  do  more  than  make  a  passing 
note  upon  each  of  these  ingredients.  Love  is  Patience, 
Love  passive.  The  normal  attitude  of  love — love  wait- 
ing to  begin  ;  not  in  a  hurry  ;  not  petulant ;  not  hasty  ; 
calm  ;  composed — waiting  to  begin  when  the  summons 
comes,  but  meantime  wearing  the  ornament  of  a  meek 
and  quiet  spirit.  Kindness.  Love  active.  Have  you  ever 
noticed  how  much  of  Christ's  life  was  spent  in  doing 
kind  things — in  merely  doing  kind  things  ?  Run  over 
it  with  that  in  view,  and  you  will  find  that  He  spent  a 
great  proportion  of  His  time  simply  in  making  people 
happy — in  doing  good  turns  to  people.  There  is  only 
one  thing  greater  than  happiness  in  the  world,  and  that 
is  holiness  ;  and  that  is  not  in  our  keeping — God  re- 
serves that  to  Himself  ;  but  what  He  has  put  in  our 
power  is  the  happiness  of  our  fellow-creatures,  and  that 
is  to  be  secured  by  our  being  kind.  After  we  iiave  been 
kind — after  love,  after  long  w-aiting,  has  gone  out  into  ac- 
tion and  done  its  beautiful  work — we  must  then  exercise 
the  third  of  these  graces  :  go  back  into  the  shade  again, 
and  say  nothing  about  it.  "  Love  vaunteth  not  itself, 
is  not  puffed  up."  "  Love  vaunteth  not."  Generosity. 
That  is  love  in  competition  with  others.  Whenever  you 
have  done  a  good  turn — done  a  good  work — you  will  find 
other  men  doing  the  same  kind  of  work.  Envy  them 
not.  Envy  is  a  feeling  of  ill-will  to  that  man  who  is  in 
the  same  line  as  ourselves — a  feeling  of  ill-will — and  we 
ha*e  ourselves  for  cherishing  it.  That  will  spring  up 
the  moment  you  get  to  your  field — be  it  in  this  land  or 
in  any  other  land — unless  you  have  learned  generosity  ; 
to  envy  not.  And  then,  after  having  learned  that,  you 
6* 


130  A   COLLECxE   OF   COLLEGES. 

have  to  learn  the  further  thing  :  to  go  into  the  shade— 
lo  hide,  and  not  let  your  right  hand  know  what  your 
left  hand  has  done.  Htcmiliiy.  Love  hiding.  "  Vaunteth 
not  itself,  is  not  puffed  up."  And  the  fifth  ingredient  is 
a  somewhat  strange  one  to  find  in  this  summiim  bonuvi : 
Courtesy — love  in  relation  to  etiquette.  "  Love  doth  not 
behave  itself  unseemly."  Politeness  has  been  defined 
as  love  in  trifles.  Courtesy  has  been  defined  as  love  in 
little  things.  And  the  secret  of  politeness  is  to  love. 
Love  cannot  behave  itself  unseemly.  You  can  take  the 
most  untutored  persons  and  put  them  in  society,  and  if 
they  have  love  as  a  reservoir  in  their  heart  they  will  no" 
behave  themselves  unseemly.  They  simply  cannot  c'o 
it.  Carlyle  said  of  Robert  Burns  that  there  was  no  truer 
gentleman  in  Europe  than  the  ploughman-poet.  It  was 
because  he  lived  to  love  everything — the  m^ouse,  and  the 
daisy,  and  all  the  things,  great  and  small,  that  God 
made  ;  and  so  he  could  go  into  any  society — into  courts 
and  palaces — from  his  little  cottage  on  the  banks  of  the 
Ayr.  We  heard  the  other  day  from  one  of  the  speakers 
on  this  platform  about  the  meaning  of  the  word  "  gen- 
tleman." It  means  a  gentle  man— a  man  who  does 
things  gently,  with  love.  "  Love  doth  not  behave  itself 
unseemly."  UnselfisJuiess.  "  Love  seeketh  not  her  own." 
Observe  :  Seeketh  not  even  that  which  is  her  own.  In 
Britain  the  Englishman  is  devoted  to  his  rights.  He 
likes  to  stand  up  for  his  rights — his  rights  as  a  man,  and 
his  rights  as  an  Englishman.  And  I  fancy  you  have  the 
same  kind  of  patriotism.  You  stand  up  for  your  rights  ; 
and  every  man  as  an  individual  or  as  a  citizen  feels  a 
sense  of  property  over  what  he  calls  his  rights.  It  is  the 
privilege  of  that  man  to  give  up  even  his  rights,  if  nec- 
essary, for  the  sake  of  another.  "  Seeketh  not  her  own." 
It  is  easy  to  give  up  things  that  we  are  not  quite  certain 
are  our  own  •  but  the  things  that  are  obviously  yours — 


LOVE — THE   SUPREME   GIFT.  13I 

that  are  legally  yours — that  you  have  earned  perhaps  by 
years  of  labor  and  sacrifice  of  trouble  or  money — to  give 
up  those  things  which  are  your  own,  that  is  the  hard 
thing.  And  yet  the  most  obvious  lesson  of  the  Gospel 
is  that  there  is  no  happiness  in  having  and  getting,  but 
only  in  giving.  I  say,  the7'e  is  no  happiness  in  having  or  in 
getting^  but  only  in  giving  j  and  half  the  world  is  on  the 
wrong  scent  in  the  pursuit  of  happiness.  They  think  it 
consists  in  having  and  getting,  and  in  being  served  by 
others.  It  consists  in  giving,  and  in  serving  others. 
And  he  that  would  be  great  among  you,  let  him  serve. 
He  that  would  be  happy,  let  him  remember  that  it  is 
more  blessed — it  is  more  happy — to  give  than  to  receive. 
The  next  ingredient  is  also  a  rem.arkable  one  :  Good 
temper.  "  Love  is  not  easily  provoked."  Nov/,  we  are 
inclined  to  look  upon  bad  temper  as  a  very  harmless  in- 
firmity. We  speak  of  it  as  being  a  mere  infirmity  of 
nature — not  a  thmg  to  take  into  very  serious  account  in 
estimating  a  man's  character — a  kind  of  accident — a 
matter  of  temperament,  and  so  on.  And  yet  here,  right 
in  the  middle  of  this  analysis  of  love,  Paul  plants  that 
thing ;  and  the  Bible  again  and  again  comes  to  that 
little  infirmity,  as  we  call  it,  and  makes  a  great  deal  of 
it.  It  is  not  a  little  infirmity  to  smile  at.  The  peculiar- 
ity of  ill-temper  is  that  it  is  the  vice  of  the  virtuous.  It 
is  the  one  blot  on  an  otherwise  noble  character.  You 
know  men  who  are  all  but  perfect  ;  and  who  would  be 
almost  entirely  perfect,  but  you  say  they  are  hasty— 
they  are  touchy — they  are  ill-tempered.  Now,  there  is 
nothing  that  a  Christian  has  to  take  more  trouble  to 
eradicate  forever  from  his  being  than  ill-temper.  It  re- 
quires the  struggle  of  years — perhaps  of  a  lifetime  ;  but 
it  has  to  be  done.  It  has  to  be  done.  It  is  not  to  be 
looked  upon  as  an  accident  of  temperament ;  but  it  is  a 
sin— one  of  the  blackest  of  all  the  sins.     It  is  the  symp- 


132  A   COLLEGE   OF   COLLEGES. 

torn  of  an  unloving  nature  at  bottom.  A  want  of  pa 
tience, — a  want  of  kindness, — a  want  of  generosity, — a 
want  of  humility, — a  want  of  courtesy, — a  want  of  un- 
selfishness—are all  symbolized  in  one  flash  of  evil  tem- 
per. Ir  is  the  revelation  of  what  is  inside  a  man,  and 
therefore  the  man  who  has  that  must  have  his  whole 
nature  SAveetened.  It  is  not  enough  to  deal  with  the 
temper.  You  must  go  to  the  root,  and  sweeten  the 
whole  nature,  and  then  temper  will  die  away  of  itself. 
But  how  can  a  man  who  has  not  had  a  victory  over  that 
part  of  his  nature  have  a  part  in  God's  people  in  this 
world  or  in  the  next  world  ?  How  is  it  possible  ? 
Why  :  a  man  with  a  temper  such  as  I  have  described 
w^ould  make  Heaven  miserable  for  all  the  people  who 
are  in  it ;  and  except  such  a  man  be  born  again  he  can- 
not enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God.  Christ  says  :  "  If 
you  offend  one  of  these  little  ones,  it  were  better  for  you 
that  a  millstone  were  hanged  about  your  neck  and  that 
you  were  cast  into  the  depths  of  the  sea."  That  is  to 
say,  it  is  the  deliberate  verdict  of  the  Lord  Jesus  that  it 
is  better  not  to  live  than  not  to  love.  //  is  better  not  to 
live  than  not  to  love.  I  shall  spend  no  time  over  the  last 
of  these  two  virtues.  Gidlelessness.  Courtesy  is  love  in 
society.  Unselfishness  is  love  denying.  Good  temper 
is  love  restraining.  Guilelessness  is  love  believing. 
And,  Sincerity  is  love  learning.  Guilelessness  is  the  grace 
for  suspicious  people.  "  Thinketh  no  evil."  The  way 
to  win  a  man  is  to  believe  in  him.  That  is  the  greatest 
secret  of  the  Christian  worker.  The  way  to  elevate  a 
man  is  to  believe  in  him  and  trust  him.  Love  "  think- 
eth no  evil" — imputes  no  motive — puts  the  best  con- 
struction on  every  action.  What  a  delightful  frame  of 
mind  to  live  in  !  And  then  love  is  sincere — wears  no 
mask.  "  Rejoiceth  not  in  iniquity,  but  rejoiceth  in  the 
truth";   rejoiceth  not  in  our  doctrine — in  this  church's 


LOVE— THE   SUPREME   GIFT.  I  33 

doctrine  or  in  that  church's  doctrine,  in  this  ism  or  that 
ism — but  rejoiceth  in  the  truth. 

So  much  for  this  analysis  of  love.  No^>-v,  my  brethren, 
the  business  of  your  lives  is  to  fit  these  things  into  your 
chaiacter.  That  is  the  supreme  thing  to  which  you  have 
to  address  yourselves  :  to  learn  love.  x\nd  life  is  full  of 
opportunities  for  learning  love.  Every  man  and  woman 
every  day  has  a  thousand  of  them.  The  world  is  not  a 
playground  ;  it  is  a  school-room  :  and  its  great  lesson 
that  we  are  always  to  learn  is  the  lesson  of  love  in  all 
its  parts.  What  makes  a.  man  a  good  football  player? 
Practice.  What  makes  a  man  a  good  artist — a  good 
sculptor — a  good  musician?  Practice,  What  mxakes  a  man 
a  good  athlete  ?  Practice.  What  makes  a  man  a  good 
man  ?  Practice.  Nothing  else.  There  is  nothing  capri- 
cious about  religion.  We  do  not  get  the  soul  in  a  dif- 
ferent way — under  different  laws — from  that  in  which 
we  get  the  body.  If  a  man  doesn't  exercise  his  arm,  he 
gets  no  biceps  muscle  ;  and  if  a  man  doesn't  exercise  his 
soul,  he  has  no  muscle  in  his  soul — no  strength  of  char- 
acter, no  robustness.  Love  is  not  a  thing  of  em.otion 
and  gush.  It  is  a  robust,  strong,  manly,  vigorous  ex- 
pression of  the  whole  character  and  nature  in  its  fullest 
development.  And  these  things  are  only  to  be  acquired 
by  daily  and  hourly  practice.  Don't  quarrel,  therefore, 
wdth  your  lot  in  life.  Don't  quarrel  with  the  quality  you 
have  of  life.  Don't  be  angry  that  you  have  to  go  through 
a  network  of  temptation — that  you  are  haunted  with  it 
every  day.  That  is  your  practice,  which  God  appoints 
you.  That  is  your  practice  ;  and  it  is  having  its  work 
in  making  you  patient,  and  humble,  and  sincere,  and 
unselfish,  and  kind,  and  courteous,  and  guileless.  Don't 
grudge  the  hand  that  is  moulding  the  shapeless  image 
in  you:  it  is  growing  more  beautiful;  and  ever}'  touch 
is  adding  to  its  perfection.     Keep  in  the  midst  of  life. 


134  A   COLLEGE   OF   COLLEGES. 

Don't  isolate  yourself.  Be  among  men,  and  among 
things,  and  among  troubles,  and  amongst  diiBculties 
and  obstacles.  (i"w  bilbct  eiii  !Ja(cnt  [id)  in  bcr  (2 tide,  ^oc^ 
ciu  (Eliavactcv  in  bcni  Strom  bcr  'iBc(t.  You  remember  Goethe's 
words  :  "  Talent  develops  itself  in  solitude  ;  character  in 
the  stream  of  life."  "Talent  develops  itself  in  solitude  " 
— the  talent  of  prayer,  of  faith.  "  Character  in  the 
stream  of  life."  That  is  where  you  are  to  learn 
love. 

How  ?  Now,  how  ?  I  might  again  go  over  all  the 
things  I  went  over  last  Sunday  night  as  the  futile  means 
of  becoming  like  Christ.  We  apply  them  all  to  love. 
We  strive  for  it.  We  brace  our  wills  to  get  it.  We 
make  laws  for  ourselves.  And  Vv^e  pray  for  it.  These 
things  will  not  bring  love  into  our  nature.  Love  is  an 
effect.  It  is  a  question  of  cause  and  effect ;  and  if  you 
fulfil  the  right  condition,  you  must  have  the  effect  pro- 
duced in  you.  Shall  I  tell  you  what  the  cause  of  love 
is  ?  If  you  turn  when  you  get  home  to  the  Revised 
Version  of  the  Epistles  of  John,  you  will  find  there  these 
words:  "We  love  because  He  first  loved  us."  "We 
love" — not,  "We  love  Him."  That  is  the  way  the  old 
version  has  it,  and  it  is  wrong.  "  We  love  because  He 
first  loved  us."  Look  at  that  word  "because."  There  is 
the  cause  of  which  I  have  spoken.  ^^ Because  He  first 
loved  us."  The  effect  follows  that  we  love  Him — we 
love  all  men.  Our  heart  is  slowly  changed.  Because 
He  loved  us,  we  love.  Contemplate  the  love  of  Christ, 
and  you  will  love  Him.  Stand  before  that,  and  you  will 
be  changed  into  the  same  image,  from  tenderness  to 
tenderness.  There  is  no  other  way.  You  cannot  love 
to  order.  You  can  only  look  at  the  lovely  object,  and 
fall  in  love  with  it.  You  cannot  command  yourself  to 
do  it.  And  so  look  at  the  great  sacrifice  of  Christ,  as 
He  laid  down  His  life  all  through  life,  and  at  His  death 


LOVE— THE   SUPREME   GIFT.  1 35 

Upon  the  Cross  of  Calvary  ;  and  you  must  love  Him. 
Love  begets  love.  It  is  a  process  of  induction.  You 
put  a  pie  :e  of  iron  in  the  mere  presence  of  an  electrified 
body,  and  that  piece  of  iron  for  a  time  becomes  elec- 
trified. It  becomes  a  temporary  magnet  in  the  presence 
of  a  permanent  magnet,  and  as  long  as  you  leave  the 
two  side  by  side,  they  are  both  magnets.  Remain  side 
by  side  with  Him  who  loved  us,  and  gave  Himself  for  us, 
and  you  too  will  become  a  permanent  magnet — a  per- 
manent attractive  force  ;  and  like  Him  you  will  draw 
all  men — be  they  white  men  or  black  men — unto  you. 
That  is  the  inevitable  effect  of  love.  Any  man  who  ful- 
fils that  cause  must  have,  that  effect  produced  in  him. 
Gentlem.en,  give  up  the  idea  that  religion  comes  to  us 
by  chance,  or  by  mystery,  or  by  caprice.  It  comes  to 
us  by  natural  law  ;  or  by  supernatural  law,  for  all  law 
is  Divine.  Edward  Irving  went  to  see  a  dying  boy  once, 
and  when  he  entered  the  room,  he  just  put  his  hand  on 
the  sufferer's  head,  and  said,  "My  boy,  God  loves 
you,"  and  went  away.  And  the  boy  started  from  his 
bed,  and  he  called  out  to  the  people  in  the  house,  "God 
loves  me  !  God  loves  me  !  "  One  word  ;  one  word  ! 
It  changed  that  boy.  The  sense  that  God  loved  him 
had  overpowered  him,  melted  him  down,  and  begun  the 
m.aking  of  a  new  heart.  And  that  is  how  the  love  of 
God  melts  down  the  unlovely  heart  in  us,  and  begets  in 
us  this  nev  creature,  who  is  patient  and  humble  and 
unselfish.  And  there  is  no  other  way  to  get  it.  There 
is  no  trick  about  it.  Oh,  truth  lies  in  that ! — we  love 
others,  we  love  everybody,  we  love  our  enemies,  because 
He  first  loved  us. 

Now,  lastly  :  I  have  a  word  or  two  to  say  about  Paul's 
reason  for  singling  out  love  as  the  supreme  possession. 
Love  defended  or  justified.  It  is  a  very  remarkable  rea- 
son.    In  a  single  word  it  is  this  :  it  lasts.     It  is  a  thing 


136  A   COLLECE    OF   COLLEGES. 

that  is  going  to  last.  "  I.ove  never  faileth."  Then  Paul 
begins  again  one  of  his  marvellous  lists  of  the  great 
things  of  the  day,  and  exposes  them.  He  runs  over  the 
things  that  men  thought  were  going  to  last — the  things 
that  men  accounted  great ;  and  he  shows  that  they  are 
all  fleeting  and  transitory.  He  says  :  "  Love  never  fail- 
el.h  :  but  whether  there  be  prophecies,  they  shall  fail.'* 
It  was  the  m-other's  ambition  for  a  boy  in  those  days 
that  he  should  become  a  prophet.  For  hundreds  of 
years  God  had  never  spoken  by  means  of  any  prophet, 
and  the  prophet  was  greater  than  the  king.  Men  waited 
for  a  prophet  to  appear,  and  hung  upon  his  lips  when 
he  did.  Paul  says:  "Whether  there  be  prophecies,  they 
shall  fail."  This  book  is  full  of  prophecies.  One  by 
one  they  have  failed  ;  that  is,  having  been  fulfilled,  their 
work  is  finished  except  as  evidences — as  matters  of  in- 
terest. Their  work  has  failed.  "Whether  there  be 
prophecies,  they  shall  fail " — they  have  nothing  more  to 
do  in  the  world  except  to  feed  a  devout  man's  faith. 
Then  Paul  talks  about  tongues.  That  was  another  thing 
that  was  greatly  coveted.  "  Whether  there  be  tongues, 
they  shall  cease."  As  we  all  know,  many,  many  cen- 
turies have  passed  since  tongues  have  been  known  in 
this  world.  They  have  ceased.  Take  it  in  any  sense  you 
like.  Take  it  in  its  narrowest  sense,  which  probably 
was  not  in  Paul's  mind  at  all — languages  in  general. 
Take  the  words  in  which  these  chapters  were  written — 
Greek.  It  has  gone.  Take  the  Latin — the  other  great 
tongue  of  those  days.  It  ceased  lo«ng  ago.  Look  at 
the  Indian  language.  It  is  ceasing.  The  language  of 
riy  own  Scottish  Highlands  is  ceasing.  The  most  pop- 
ular book  in  the  English  tongue  at  the  present  time,  ex- 
cept the  Bible,  is  one  of  Dickens'  works — his  "  Pickwick 
Papers."  It  is  written  in  the  language  of  London  street- 
life  ;  and  experts  assure   us  that  in  fifty  years  it  will 


LOVE — THE    SUPREME   GIFT.  1 37 

be  unintelligible  to  the  average  English  reader.  Its 
language  is  ceasing.  Don't  covet  that.  Then  Paul 
goes  farther,  and  with  even  greater  boldness  he  says  : 
"Whether  there  be  knowledge,  it  shall  vanish  away." 
And  the  wisdom  of  the  ancients,  where  is  it?  It  is 
already  gone.  A  school-boy  to-day  knows  more  than 
Sir  Isaac  Newton  knew.  His  knowledge  has  vanished 
away.  You  put  yesterday's  newspaper  in  the  fire.  Its 
knowledge  has  vanished  away.  You  buy  the  old  edi- 
tions of  the  great  encyclopaedias  for  a  few  cents.  Their 
knowledge  has  vanished  away.  Look  how  the  coach 
has  been  superseded  by  the  steam-engine.  Look  how 
electricity — look  how  the  telephone  has  come  in  and 
put  a  hundred  inventions  aside.  Ay,  and  they  will  have 
their  day  and  then  vanish  away.  The  greatest  living 
authority  on  electricity  and  on  physics — Sir  William 
Thomson — said  the  other  day  in  Scotland  at  a  meeting 
at  which  I  was  present :  "The  steam-engine  is  passing 
away."  "  Whether  there  be  knowledge,  it  shall  vanish 
away."  At  every  workshop  in  America  you  will  see  out 
in  the  back-yard  a  heap  of  old  iron — a  few  wheels,  and 
a  few  levers,  all  rusty.  Twenty  years  ago  that  was  the 
pride  of  the  city.  Men  flocked  in  from  the  country  to 
see  this  great  invention,  and  now  it  has  been  superseded 
and  has  vanished  away.  And  all  the  boasted  science 
and  philosophy  of  this  day  will  soon  be  old.  It  is  not 
going  to  last.  My  brother,  it  is  not  going  to  last.  T>et 
us  pursue  it ;  but  let  us  not  make  it  the  chief  thing.  Lc 
us  be  humble  with  it  when  we  get  it,  because  it  is  tem- 
porary. In  my  time  in  the  University  of  Edinburgh,  the 
greatest  figure  in  the  faculty  was  Sir  James  Simpson, 
the  discoverer  of  chloroform.  The  other  day,  just  before 
I  left  Scotland,  his  successor  and  nephew.  Professor 
Simpson,  was  asked  by  the  Librarian  of  the  University 
to  go  to  the  library  and  pick  out  the  books  on  his  sub- 


138  A   COLLEGE   OF  COLLEGES. 

ject  (midwifery)  that  were  no  longer  needed.  And  his 
reply  to  the  Librarian  was  this  :  "  Take  every  book 
that  is  more  than  ten  years  old,  and  put  it  down  into 
the  cellar."  Knowledge  has  vanished  away.  Sir  James 
Simpson  was  a  great  authority  ten  years  ago — twelve 
years  ago  ;  men  came  from  all  parts  of  the  earth  to  con- 
sult him  ;  and  the  whole  knowledge  of  that  day,  within 
that  short  period,  is  now  consigned  by  the  science  of 
to-day  to  the  cellar.  How  true  are  the  words  of  Paul : 
"We  know  in  part,  and  v»^e  prophesy  in  part."  "We  see 
through  a  glass  darkl3^"  Can  you  tell  me  anything  that 
is  going  to  last  ?  Many  things  Paul  did  not  condescend 
to  name.  He  did  not  mention  money,  fortune,  fame  ; 
but  he  picked  out  the  great  things  of  his  time,  and  then 
brushed  them  aside.  A  great  many  things  that  men 
denounce  as  sins  are  not  sins ;  but  they  are  temporary. 
And  that  is  a  favorite  argument  of  Paul's.  He  says  : 
"  The  v/orld  passeth  away."  That  is  a  great  charge 
against  the  world.  There  is  a  great  deal  in  it  that  is 
delightful  and  beautiful  ;  there  is  a  great  deal  in  it  that 
is  useful  and  pleasant ;  but  it  passeth  away — all  that  is 
in  the  world — the  lust  of  the  eye,  the  lust  of  the  flesh, 
and  the  pride  of  life.  But  while  the  world  passeth  away, 
"  he  that  doeth  the  will  of  God  abideth  forever."  And 
Paul's  argument  here  again  is  precisely  that  all  these 
things  are  going  to  pass  away,  and  therefore  they  are 
not  worth  the  entire  life  and  the  consecration  of  an  im- 
mortal soul.  Let  the  immortal  soul  give  himself  to 
something  that  is  immortal  ;  and  the  only  things  that 
are  eternal  are  these  :  "  Now  abideth  faith,  hope,  love  ; 
and  the  greatest  of  these  is  love."  You  can  see  that  the 
time  will  come  when  two  of  these  things  will  perhaps 
pass  away.  I  do  not  know — v/e  know  so  little  about  the 
conditions  of  life  in  the  other  world — but  it  seems  to  me 
as  if  there  will  come  a  time  when  faith  shall  vanish  into 


LOVE— THE   SUPREME   GIFT.  1 39 

sight,  and  when  hope  shall  vanish  into  full  fruition. 
Then  there  will  be  one  thing  left,  and  that  is  love.  Covet 
that  everlasting  gift — that  one  thing  which  is  going  to 
stand  out — that  one  coinage  which  will  be  current  when 
all  the  other  coinages  of  all  the  nations  shall  be  returned 
from  the  bank  of  eternity.  Covet  that,  my  brothers,  and 
give  yourselves  to  that.  Put  things  in  their  proportion. 
Put  tilings  i7i  their  proportion ;  and  let  the  object  of  your 
life  be  for  yourself  to  have  the  character  defended  in 
these  words — and  it  is  the  character  of  Christ — borne 
into  your  character,  that  you  may  be  created  into  the 
same  image.  I  have  said  this  thing  is  eternal.  Did  you 
ever  notice  how  John  is  continually  associating  love 
and  faith  with  eternal  life  ?  I  was  not  told  when  I 
was  a  Sunday-scholar  that  "God  so  loved  the  world 
that  He  gave  His  only  begotten  Son,  that  whosoever  be- 
lieveth  in  Him  should  have  everlasting  life."  What  I 
was  told,  I  remember,  was  that  God  so  loved  the  world 
that  if  I  trusted  in  Him,  I  was  to  have  a  thing  called 
peace,  or  I  v/as  to  have  rest,  or  I  was  to  have  joy,  or  I 
was  to  have  safety.  But  I  had  to  find  out  for  myself 
that  whosoever  trusteth  in  Him — that  is,  whosoever  lov- 
eth  Him,  for  trust  is  only  the  means  to  the  end — hath 
everlasting  life.  The  Gospel  offers  a  man  life.  Don't 
offer  men  a  thimbleful  of  Gospel.  Don't  offer  them 
merely  joy,  or  merely  peace,  or  merely  rest,  or  merely 
safety  ;  but  remember  how  Christ  came  to  give  men  a 
more  abundant  life  than  they  had,  and  then  you  will 
take  hold  of  the  whole  of  a  man — you  will  give  him  a 
bigger  life,  a  fuller  life-current,  than  the  life  he  is  living. 
Then  your  Gospel  will  move  him,  if  he  has  laid  hold  of 
it.  Instead  of  laying  hold  of  a  part  of  his  nature,  you 
lay  hold  of  the  whole  of  his  nature.  Christ  becomes  to 
him  the  Way,  and  the  Truth,  and  the  Life.  Do  you 
want  to  know  whether  you  are  to  live  to-morrow  ?    Why 


140  A   COLLEGE   OF   COLLEGES. 

do  you  wani  to  live  to-morrow  ?  It  is  because  there  is 
some  one  who  loves  you,  and  whom  you  want  to  see  to- 
morrow, and  be  with,  and  to  love  back.  There  is  no 
other  reason  why  we  should  live  on  than  that  we  love 
and  are  beloved.  You  see  how  the  thing  is  eternal.  The 
moment  a  man  has  no  one  to  love  him,  he  commits  sui- 
cide. So  long  as  a  man  has  those  who  love  him,  and 
whom  he  loves,  he  will  live  ;  because  to  live  is  to  love. 
I  c  it  be  but  the  love  of  a  dog,  it  will  keep  him  in  life  ; 
but  let  that  go  and  he  has  no  contact  with  life — no  rea- 
son to  live.  He  dies  by  his  own  hand.  You  want  to 
live  because  you  love,  so  that  love  is  life.  "  Love  never 
faileth."  Life  never  faileth,  so  long  as  there  is  love. 
That  is  the  philosophy  of  what  Paul  is  showing  us  :  why 
love  should  be  the  supreme  thing — because  it  is  going 
to  last.     It  is  the  eternal  thing. 

Now,  gentlemen,  I  have  finished.  How  many  of  you 
will  join  me  in  reading  that  chapter  once  a  week  for  the 
next  three  months  ;  then  once  a  month  for  the  following 
three  months  ?  I  know  a  man  who  did  that,  and  it 
changed  his  whole  life.  Will  you  do  it  ?  It  is  for  the 
greatest  thing  in  the  world.  Ay,  you  might  begin  by 
reading  it  every  day  for  a  week — especially  the  verses 
in  the  middle  which  describe  the  perfect  character. 
"  Love  sufiereth  long,  and  is  kind  ;  love  envieth  not ; 
love  vaunteth  not  itself."  Get  these  ingredients  fitted 
into  your  life.  Then  everything  that  you  do  is  eternal. 
I  need  not  tell  you  that  eternal  life  is  not  a  thing  that 
we  are  to  get  when  we  die.  It  is  a  thing  that  we  are 
living  now,  and  that  we  will  have  a  poor  chance  of  get- 
ting when  we  die  unless  we  are  living  it  now.  The  life 
of  love  is  an  eternal  life  ;  and  there  is  no  worse  fate  can 
befall  a  man  than  to  live  and  grow  old  alone — unloving 
and  unloved.  To  be  lost  is  to  live  in  an  unregenerate 
condition,  loveless  and  unloved  ;  and  to  be  saved  is  to 


LOVE — THE   SUPREME   GIFT.  I4I 

love — for  God  is  love.  So  that  this  thing  is  worth  doing. 
It  is  worth  doing  !  It  is  worth  giving  time  to.  No  man 
can  become  a  saint  in  his  sleep  ;  and  to  fulfil  the  condi- 
tion requires  a  certain  amount  of  prayer  and  meditation 
and  time,  just  as  improvement  in  any  direction,  bodily 
or  mental,  requires  a  certain  amount  of  preparation  and 
time.  Address  yourselves  to  that  one  thing,  and  have 
this  supreme  thing  engraven  upon  your  character.  You 
will  find  as  you  look  back  upon  your  life  that  the  mo- 
ments that  stand  out  above  everything  else  are  the  mo- 
ments when  you  have  done  things  in  a  spirit  of  love. 
"He  that  loveth  is  born  of  God";  and  above  all  the 
transitory  pleasures  of  life  there  stand  forward  those 
supreme  moments  when  we  have  been  enabled  to  do 
unnoticed  kindnesses  to  those  around  about  us — things 
too  trifling  to  speak  about,  but  they  become  a  part  of  us. 
I  can  remember  them  now.  I  have  seen  almost  all  the 
beautiful  things  God  has  made  ;  I  have  enjoyed  almost 
every  pleasure  that  God  has  planned  for  man  ;  and  yet 
I  can  look  back,  and  I  see  standing  out  above  all  the  life 
that  has  gone  four  or  five  short  experiences  when  the 
love  of  God  reflected  itself  in  some  poor  imitation,  some 
small  act  of  love  of  mine — and  that  is  the  thing  that  I 
get  comfort  from  now.  When  I  think  about  my  past 
life,  everything  else  has  been  transitory — has  passed 
away.  But  the  acts  of  love  which  no  man  knows  about, 
or  will  ever  know  about — they  never  fail.  And,  my 
brethren,  in  closing,  let  me  remind  you  that  in  the  book 
of  Matthew,  where  the  great  judgment  day  is  depicted 
for  us  in  the  imagery  of  One  seated  upon  a  throne  and 
dividing  the  sheep  from  the  goats,  the  test  of  a  man 
then  is  not,  "  How  have  I  believed  ? " — but,  "  How  have 
I  loved  ?"  The  test  of  religion— the  final  test  of  relig- 
ion— is  not  religiousness,  but  love.  I  say  the  final  test 
of  religion  at  the  great  assizes  is  not  religiousness,  but 


142  A   COLLEGE  OF  COLLEGES. 

love  ;  not  what  I  have  done — not  what  I  have  believed — 
not  what  I  have  achieved — but  how  I  have  loved  :  ac- 
cording to  the  number  of  the  cups  of  cold  water  we 
have  given  in  the  name  of  Christ. 

"  Oh,  may  I  join  the  choir  invisible 
Of  those  immortal  dead  who  live  again 
In  lives  made  better  by  their  presence.*' 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

DIVINE   CHOICE    OF   INSTRUMENTS. 

Address  by  Mr.  D.  L.  Moody— The  Mosaic  Offerings— Small  Gifts 
Acceptable— The  Heart  Desired  Rather  than  the  Head— Foolish 
and  Base  Things  Used  to  Confound  the  Mighty — Moses  and  his 
Rod — Other  Scripture  Instances — A  Work  for  Every  One. 

I  WANT  to  call  your  attention  to  a  few  things  you  v/ill 
find  in  the  25th  chapter  of  Exodus.  I  think  this  chapter 
ought  to  be  read  with  the  25th  chapter  of  Matthew — the 
parable  of  the  talents.  "And  the  Lord  spake  unto 
Moses,  saying,  Speak  unto  the  children  of  Israel,  that 
they  bring  me  an  offering  :  of  every  man  that  giveth  it 
willingly  with  his  heart  ye  shall  take  My  offering.  And 
this  is  the  offering  which  ye  shall  take  of  them  :  gold., 
and  silver,  and  brass."  Notice  ;  if  a  man  hadn't  got 
gold,  he  brought  silver.  It  was  just  as  acceptable  as  if 
he  had  brought  gold.  Gold  has  no  value  in  Heaven. 
They  use  it  there  to  pave  the  streets  with — better  gold 
than  we  have  down  here — transparent  gold.  God  can 
make  gold  as  easily  as  He  can  make  dirt.  He  can  make 
a  world  of  it.  Gold  has  no  value  in  His  sight.  But  He 
knows  that  man  has  got  his  heart  set  on  it ;  and  what 
He  wants  is  what  your  heart  is  set  on.  If  you  love 
Him,  you  will  give  Him  everything.  If  a  man  hadn't 
gold,  he  could  bring  silver.  It  was  just  as  acceptable 
as  if  he  had  brought  gold.  If  he  had  neither  gold  nor 
silver,  he  could  bring  brass  ;  and  it  was  just  as  accepta- 
ble as  if  he  had  brought  silver  or  gold.  I  can  imagine 
some  m-an  coming  up  with  an  c5ering  of  brass,  and  an- 

(143) 


144  A   COLLEGE   OF  COLLEGES. 

Other  man  says  :  "  What  are  you  bringing  brass  for  ? ' 
"  Because  I  have  got  no  silver  or  gold."  "  Well  ;  but  it 
won't  be  acceptable."  Don't  you  believe  it !  If  you 
bring  it  with  your  whole  heart,  it  is  just  as  acceptable 
as  if  you  brought  gold.  "And  blue,  and  purple,  and 
scarlet,  and  fine  linen,  and  goats'  hair."  I  have  always 
been  glad  the  goats'  hair  was  in  there.  Lots  of  people 
haven't  got  gold,  or  silver,  or  brass,  or  fine  linen;  but  they 
have  got  a  few  goats'  hairs.  A  little  child  can  bring  a 
handful  of  goals'  hair,  and  it  is  just  as  acceptable  as  if 
it  brought  a  bag  of  gold.  I  think  I  can  see  the  wisdom 
of  the  Almighty  in  this.  Children  like  to  be  busy,  and 
God  wanted  that  every  one  should  have  something  to 
do.  "And  rams'  skins  dyed  red,  and  badgers*  skins,  and 
shittim  wood  ;  oil  for  the  light,  spices  for  anointing  oil, 
and  for  sweet  incense  ;  onyx  stones,  and  stones  to  be  set 
in  the  ephod,  and  in  the  breastplate.  And  let  them 
make  Me  a  sanctuary,  that  I  may  dwell  among  them." 

I  have  read  this  portion  of  Scripture  to-night  that  I 
might  say  a  few  words  to  some  young  men  here  who 
may  feel  that  they  haven't  got  any  gift  to  work  for  God. 
Now,  I  feel  more  anxious  for  that  class  of  people  in  this 
country  than  for  any  other,  because  I  believe  they  are 
more  numerous.  There  are  thousands  of  men  that  would 
become  more  useful  in  God's  kingdom  if  they  would 
wake  up  to  this  fact :  it  isn't  brains  God  wants  ;  it  is  the 
heart.  It  isn't  the  head  God  wants — it  is  the  heart.  A 
great  many  think  they  have  got  to  have  a  great  deal  of 
head-culture  before  God  can  use  them.  He  wants  the 
heart.  When  He  wanted  some  one  to  take  Elijah's 
place,  He  didn't  take  one  of  the  prophets  ;  He  went  out 
among  the  oxen,  and  there  he  found  Elisha  ploughing 
with  his  oxen,  and  He  called  him  to  take  the  place  of 
Elijah — the  greatest  prophet  on  the  face  of  the  earth. 
Elisha  went  right  on  with  the  work,  and  he  fulfilled  his 


DIVINE  CHOICE   OF  INSTRUMENTS.  I45 

mission  as  well  as  Elijah  did.  And  so  you  will  find  it 
all  through  the  Bible — God  taking  men  who  are  willing 
to  give  the  heart.  Paul  says  in  ist  Corinthians  that 
God  uses  the  foolish  things.  We  don't  want  the  foolish 
things — we  want  the  wise,  we  want  the  great,  we  want 
the  mighty  ;  but  God  uses  the  foolish  things.  And  then 
the  next  thing  Paul  says  is  that  God  uses  the  weak 
things.  We  don't  want  the  weak  things  ;  we  v.^ant  the 
strong.  But  when  God  has  some  great  work  to  do,  He 
calls  some  weak  man.  If  we  had  wanted  to  find  a  man 
that  would  write  a  book  to  go  all  through  the  world,  we 
would  have  gone  to  Oxford  or  Cambridge  ;  but  God 
goes  to  Bedford  Jail  and  takes  Bunyan,  and  he  writes 
the  "  Pilgrim's  Progress."  God  takes  the  foolish  things, 
the  weak  things,  the  base  things.  That  is  the  thing  we 
want  to  learn.  He  takes  the  despised  things — that  the 
proud  and  haughty  world  looks  down  upon,  and  scorns 
and  condemns.  God  takes  them.  And  there  is  danger 
that  some  of  you  college  men  will  look  dov/n  on  some  of 
these  base  things,  these  weak  things,  these  foolish  things. 
Paul  goes  a  step  farther,  and  says  He  takes  *'  the  things 
which  are  not,  to  bring  to  naught  things  that  are  :  that 
no  flesh  should  glory  in  His  presence."  Now,  I  tell 
3^ou,  young  men,  if  God  is  going  to  do  the  work,  He  is 
not  going  to  give  you  the  glory.  When  you  and  I  get 
to  the  position  that  we  are  willing  to  give  Him  all  the 
glory,  then  He  can  use  us.  When  a  man  is  weak,  then 
he  is  strong.  Then  is  when  we  have  strength — when  we 
haven't  any.  That  is  just  the  time  we  lean  on  God  s 
arm,  and  know  our  need.  There  was  once  weeping  in 
Heaven.  There  was  a  sealed  book,  and  there  wasn't 
one  that  could  open  that  book.  I  see  John  looking  at 
one  and  another,  to  see  is  it  a  possible  thing  for  any  of 
them  to  open  the  book.  He  looks  at  Abel.  Abel  has 
been  here  four  thousand  years  ;  but  he  can't  open  the 
7 


146  A  COLLEGE   OF  COLLEGES. 

book.  Is  it  possible  that  after  being  here  ^oar  thousand 
years  he  can't  do  this  ?  Yes.  John  looks  at  Enoch,  who 
was  translated  to  Heaven  without  seeing  death — of  whom 
the  world  was  not  worthy.  No.  Even  Enoch  is  not 
worthy  to  open  the  book.  Now  he  looks  upon  Moses, 
the  father  of  the  faithful — Moses,  the  great  law-giver. 
But  even  Moses  isn't  worthy  to  open  the  book.  He 
looks  at  Elijah,  and  Elisha,  and  Isaiah  ;  and  among  all 
the  prophets  and  patriarchs  no  one  is  worthy.  And 
some  of  the  Apostles  had  got  there— got  there  ahead  of 
John  ;  but  not  one  of  the  Apostles  was  worthy  to  open 
the  book.  John  wept  much  ;  and  all  at  once  one  touched 
him,  and  said  :  "  Weep  not.  The  Lion  of  the  tribe  of 
Judah  hath  prevailed."  And  John  looked,  and  saw  the 
lion  as  if  it  was  a  slain  Lamb,  and  the  Lamb  came,  and 
took  the  book,  and  opened  it.  What  is  the  lesson  ? 
When  God  wants  some  one  to  bring  out  the  things  of 
Heaven,  He  takes  a  lamb.  God  uses  the  weak  things. 
When  you  and  I  are  lacking  in  strength,  in  wisdom,  or 
in  power,  and  feel  that  we  are  foolish  and  weak  lambs, 
then  God  can  use  us.  I  remember  when  I  was  in  Scot- 
land, some  one  sent  me  a  book  :  "  What  is  That  in  Thine 
Hand  ? "  When  I  was  preaching  two  or  three  times  a 
day,  I  hadn't  time  to  read  it,  and  threw  it  aside  ;  but 
the  title  attracted  my  attention.  I  got  hold  of  that  tract 
and  read  it  through,  and  I  have  always  been  glad  I  did. 
Moses  thought  God  Almighty  had  mistaken  his  instru- 
ment. He  went  on  excusing  himself,  and  said  he  was 
slow  of  speech — he  had  an  impediment  in  his  speech. 
But  God  said  :  "What  is  that  in  thine  hand?"  He  had 
a  rod  in  his  hand,  that  he  had  cut  to  serve  him  as  a  sort 
of  cane  out  there  in  the  desert,  or  a  shepherd's  staff. 
There  was  nothing  extraordinary  about  it.  I  suppose 
he  had  cut  the  first  stick  he  came  across,  and  might 
have  cut  a  hundred  better  ones  if  he  had  looked  around. 


DIVINE  CHOICE   OF   INSTRUMENTS.  147 

It  was  an  old  dried-up  stick.  God  says  :  "  What  is  that 
in  thine  hand?"  "Nothing  but  a  rod,"  says  Moses. 
Then  God  sent  him  out,  right  in  the  eye  of  an  unbeliev- 
ing world,  and  told  him  to  go  to  Egypt  and  deliver  three 
million  people  with  that  old  dried-up  rod.  Suppose  he 
had  met  one  of  your  philosophers— one  of  your  free- 
thinkers. Suppose  some  one  of  that  kind  had  met  Moses, 
and  said  :  " Moses,  where  are  you  going ? "  "I  am  going 
to  make  Pharaoh  let  three  million  slaves  go  free."  "Ah, 
I  suppose  you  know  what  that  means.  It  will  take  a 
mint  of  money,  and  the  greatest  war  the  world  ever 
saw."  But  there  was  no  mint  of  money  and  no  army — 
nothing  but  one  man  with  a  rod.  Holding  that  with  an 
iron  grip,  he  was  going  to  demand  of  the  mighty  Pharaoh 
that  he  let  the  people  of  Israel  go  free.  The  skeptical 
world  would  have  thought  he  had  gone  clean  mad,  to 
imagine  he  was  going  to  succeed.  "  What  are  you  going 
to  do  it  with,  Moses  ? "  "I  am  going  to  do  it  with  this 
rod."  "  Yes,"  they  would  have  said  ;  "  he  has  certainly 
gone  out  of  his  head."  If  it  had  been  in  our  day,  they 
would  have  thought  he  could  do  nothing  without  shot 
and  shell,  and  trains  of  artillery.  Men  know  a  heap  too 
much  sometimes.  Look  at  I'Joses  as  he  started  out  in 
Egypt  forty  years  before.  He  wasn't  fit  for  God  to 
v/ork  with.  He  wasn't  good  for  anything.  And  you 
may  get  all  the  wisdom  in  all  these  colleges  and  univer- 
sities, and  if  you  haven't  got  the  Spirit  of  God  in  you, 
you  will  not  be  good  for  anything.  I'd  rather  have 
Moses'  old  rod  than  a  whole  crowd  of  you.  But  now 
Moses  has  been  forty  years  with  God,  and  God  has  been 
teaching  him  wonderful  things  ;  and  he  goes  down  and 
stands  before  the  king — tells  the  proud,  haughty-looking 
king  that  he  must  let  the  children  of  Israel  go  free,  for 
God  demands  it.  "  Who  is  your  God  ?  AVho  is  God, 
aiat  I  should  obey  Him?"     "He  is  the  God  of  this 


145  A   COLLEGE   OF   COLLEGES. 

rod,"  says  Moses.  "  Your  God,  the  God  cf  that  old 
dried-up  stick!  I  don't  fear  j^ou."  But  Moses  hasn't 
gone  a  great  way  till  he  stretches  that  old  rod  out  over 
the  waters  of  Egypt,  and  turns  them  into  blood.  It  has 
become  a  very  serious  thing.  Nobody  can  get  a  drink 
of  water.  Who  is  going  to  drink  bloody  water  ?  The 
river  is  full  of  blood — blood  all  over  the  nation.  Well ; 
this  man  suddenly  becomes  the  most  important  man  in 
all  Egypt.  The  king  sends  for  him,  and  asks  him  to 
take  the  plague  away.  With  his  rod  he  does  it.  Again 
Moses  demands  of  Pharaoh  that  he  let  the  children  of 
Israel  go,  and  threatens  a  plague  of  frogs.  Says  the 
king  :  "  I  am  not  afraid  of  frogs."  "Ah,  but  there  vvdll 
be  so  many  of  them,  you  will  not  knov/  what  to  do." 
The  frogs  came — so  many  that  the  king  couldn't  take  a 
step  without  stepping  on  a  frog,  and  they  got  into  his 
ovens  and  troughs — frogs,  frogs,  frogs  !— until  at  last  he 
got  tired,  and  was  glad  to  have  the  rod  turned  against 
them.  The  old  rod  did  the  work  very  well.  When  the 
children  of  Israel  got  to  the  Red  Sea,  and  Pharaoh  was 
coming  on  with  his  host  in  the  rear,  all  that  Moses  had 
to  do  was  to  stretch  out  that  rod,  and  the  Red  Sea  sep- 
arated, and  they  passed  over  dry-shod.  AVhen  they 
came  near  dying  for  want  of  water,  all  Moses  had  to  do 
was  to  strike  the  flinty  rock,  and  the  v;ater  gushed  forth. 
Why,  dear  friends,  when  God  Almighty  linked  His  power 
with  that  rod,  it  became  a  rod  that  was  worth  more  than 
all  the  armies  in  the  world.  If  God  can  use  an  old 
dried-up,  withered  rod,  He  can  use  you  and  me.  Some 
of  us  are  pretty  dry,  but  God  can  use  us.  That  is  the 
lesson  we  have  got  to  learn.  When  we  are  weak,  con- 
temptible, base,  obscure — when  the  world  looks  down 
upon  us — then  is  the  time  God  can  use  us.  One  drop 
of  His  power  will  move  Heaven  and  earth.  The  same 
power  Moses  had,  you  and  I  can  have. 


DIVINE   CHOICE   OF  INSTRUMENTS.  1 49 

Another  thing  :  Work  with  what  you  have  goi  not 
with  what  you  haven't  got.  Moses  hadn't  any  shot  and 
shell,  or  Damascus  blades ;  but  he  took  his  rod.  Take 
what  you  have.  Take  the  gifts  you  have,  and  go  right 
out  and  go  to  work.  Look  into  the  Bible,  md  see  how 
God  takes  up  the  base  things  all  the  while.  There  is 
Samson,  going  out  to  meet  a  thousand  Philistines  with 
a  jaw-bone  of  an  ass.  Nothing  weaker  than  that ! — very 
contemptible  !  But  he  routs  them  hip  and  thigh — puts 
the  whole  crowd  of  them  to  flight.  It  wasn't  Samson — 
it  wasn't  the  jaw-bone  ;  they  are  nothing  ;  but  it  was 
the  God  of  Heaven  that  worked  through  him.  Oh,  men, 
let  us  learn  this  lesson.  Let  us  get  our  jaw-bone,  and 
go  right  to  work.  Let  us  get  our  rod,  and  go  right  to 
work.  You  are  not  more  contemptible  than  a  rod — than 
a  jaw-bone.  God  can  use  you  and  me.  That  is  the  les 
son.  Look  at  Gideon.  He  had  only  an  army  of  32,000 
men  to  meet  a  great  host.  And  Gideon  was  no  warrior. 
He  hadn't  been  schooled  among  military  men.  He 
marshalled  his  arm}/  together,  and  found  he  had  32,000 
men.  I  suppose  he  thought  he  hadn't  men  enough.  But 
the  Lord  says  to  him  :  "  Gideon,  here  is  your  proclama- 
tion. You  have  too  many  men  for  Me  to  work  with. 
Let  all  that  are  timid  and  afraid  return  and  depart  from 
Mount  Gilead."  Then  he  had  only  10,000  men.  I  sup- 
pose Gideon  thought  the  Lord  had  made  a  mistake,  to 
let  those  men  go.  I  want  to  say,  my  brethren,  I  believe 
the  Church  of  God  would  be  stronger  every  way  if  it 
could  get  all  the  timid  people  and  all  the  doubters  to 
go  back  to  the  rear.  Well ;  these  men  got  out  of  dan- 
ger. They  were  glad  to  get  home  to  their  wives  and 
mothers.  Then  the  Lord  says  :  "  Gideon,  you  have  got 
too  many  men  now.  You  will  be  taking  the  glory  to 
yourself.  Take  them  dov/n  to  the  water,  and  every  man 
that  laps  as  a  dog  laps,  take  him  out  from  the  rest ;  and 


150  A  COLLEGE   OF   COLLEGES. 

when  3^ou  have  gathered  all  the  men  of  that  kind,  take 
tJiem.''  So  they  go  down  to  the  water,  and  9,700  men 
lie  down  to  drink,  and  that  is  the  last  we  ever  see  of 
them.  They  are  there  yet,  for  all  I  know.  Gideon  just 
took  those  300  men,  and  they  surrounded  the  camp  of 
Midian.  What  did  they  take  ?  Pitchers.  Who  would 
think  of  going  out  to  meet  an  army  with  pitchers  ?  But 
they  went  out  with  lights  in  the  pitchers,  and  they  blew 
their  trumpets,  and  shouted  :  "  The  sword  of  the  Lord 
and  of  Gideon  ! "  Ah,  that  struck  terror,  and  the  enemy 
fled  away  like  chaff.  It  wasn't  the  sword  of  Gideon 
only  ;  it  was  the  sword  of  the  Lord  and  of  Gideon.  And 
the  empty  pitchers  did  the  work  very  well.  If  God 
could  use  an  empty  pitcher,  He  can  use  you  and  me, 
can't  He?  If  He  could  use  the  jaw-bone  of  an  ass.  He 
can  use  you  and  me,  can't  He  ?  Come,  young  men,  wil 
you  let  God  use  you  when  you  get  home  ?  Never  min4 
anything  else  you  have  got  here,  if  you  take  away  the 
idea  that  God  will  use  us  if  we  give  Him  our  whole 
hearts.  Just  cultivate  the  heart.  There  are  lots  of  peo- 
ple whose  heads  grow  bigger,  but  their  hearts  don't.  A 
man  v/ith  a  big  head  and  a  small  heart  is  a  curse  tc 
any  church,  or  any  community.  We  want  our  hearts  tc 
grow.  Look  again — going  on  through  history.  Look 
at  David,  undertaking  to  go  out  and  fight  Goliath.  T 
suppose  David  was  under-size,  and  you  know  Saul  was 
above  the  general  size.  Saul  looks  down  upon  David 
and  says  :  "  You  are  not  able  to  go  and  fight  this  giant 
You  are  but  a  youth."  But  David  says  :  "God  will  help 
me."  And  he  says  :  "I  wish  you  would  let  me  have  the 
ueapons  I  am  familiar  v/ith."  "What  have  you  got?* 
"  I  have  got  a  sling."  "  What ! — a  sling  ?  You,  going 
to  meet  that  giant  with  a  sling  !  Well,  then  ;  3^ou  will 
have  to  put  on  my  armor."  So  he  gets  the  young  man's 
body  all  covered  with  armor ;  but  David  finds  it  is  too 


DIVINE   CHOICE    OF   INSTRUMENTS.  I5I 

heav},  and  has  it  taken  off.  God  couldn't  use  him  in  a 
heavy  armor.  "  What  are  you  going  to  use  in  the  sling  ? " 
"  Oh,  some  stones."  "  Why,  you  are  mad,  my  boy."  "  Oh, 
no  ;  I  am  all  right  if  my  God  is  with  me.  That  uncir- 
cumcised  Philistine  is  nothing  in  the  sight  of  my  God." 
I  see  him  pick  five  small  stones  out  of  the  brook — that 
was  four  too  many.  One  in  the  sling  was  enough.  The 
giant  looked  down  on  him,  and  despised  him.  He  was 
one  of  the  base  things  God  uses.  "What !  a  sling?  The 
great  giant  of  Gath  going  to  be  hurled  out  of  existence 
by  a  boy  with  a  sling  I  "  But  David  just  took  that  stone 
and  put  it  into  the  sling,  and  down  came  the  giant.  The 
sling  did  its  work  very  well.  So  let  us  get  our  slings 
and  go  about  it.  Joshua,  you  know,  used  rams'  horns — 
another  base  thing.  I  see  the  mighty  army  tramping 
around  the  walls  of  that  city,  around  and  around  ;  but 
-at  last  when  the  time  came,  they  shouted,  and  the  walls 
came  tumbling  down.  Let  us  get  our  rams'  horns  ;  let 
us  get  our  pitchers  ;  let  us  get  our  jaw-bones — or  any- 
thing. If  God  is  in  it,  that  is  enough.  I  suppose  Mr. 
Oatts  could  tell  you  of  a  merchant  in  Glasgow  who  used 
to  preach  wherever  he  thought  he  could  do  good.  One 
day  he  was  talking  about  Shamgar.  "  Over  the  hill," 
he  said,  "  there  came  a  man.  He  came  near  Shamgar, 
and  said  :  *  Shamgar,  Shamgar,  run  for  your  life  !  Six 
hundred  Philistines  are  coming  over  the  hill  after  you.' 
But  Shamgar  said  :  *  They  are  four  hundred  short.  I'll 
take  care  of  them.*  He  believed  in  Scripture,  you  see — 
that  one  should  chase  a  thousand.  So  he  takes  his  ox- 
goad  and  slays  the  whole  six  hundred."  Let  us  take 
the  lesson.  If  you  have  got  anything  at  all,  lay  it  on  the 
altar.  If  it  is  brass,  put  that  on.  If  it  is  silk,  or  fine 
linen — if  it  is  only  a  few  goats'  hairs,  put  that  on.  Say, 
"  Here  I  am.  Lord,  with  my  goats'  hairs.  Take  me.  I 
want  to  have  a  hand  in  building  up  your  kingdom.     I 


152  A   COLLEGE   OF   COLLEGES. 

want  to  be  used.  Here  am  I.  Send  me."  God  will 
send  you  when  your  heart  is  right.  There  was  Dorcas. 
She  had  nothing  but  a  needle  ;  but  look  at  the  millions 
of  needles  she  has  put  in  motion.  Look  at  the  Dorcas 
societies  all  over  the  world,  sending  out  missionaries. 
She  took  what  she  had,  and  laid  it  on  the  altar,  and  God 
accepted  it.  And  Dorcas  has  become  famous  all  through 
these  centuries.  "What  is  that  in  thine  hand  ?"  Have 
you  got  a  needle — a  dried-up  stick — a  jaw-bone  of  an 
ass — a  pitcher — an  ox-goad  ?  It  looks  very  base  in  the 
sight  of  the  world — very  contemptible  ;  but  God  will 
use  it  if  it  is  consecrated  to  His  service.  Just  say  : 
"  Take  it.     Take  me,  and  use  me." 

I  want  to  say  another  thing.  I  have  never  seen  a  mari 
that  has  been  successful  in  this  work  in  this  country  oi 
any  other  country,  who  wasn't  willing  to  do  anything 
that  God  has  got  for  him  to  do.  You  will  find  that  the 
men  that  have  worked  their  way  up,  and  become  emi- 
nent and  useful,  were  willing  to  begin  down  in  the  gut- 
ters. They  have  been  willing  to  work  with  few  or 
many — just  wherever  God  put  them.  And  I  don't  be- 
lieve a  man  is  fit  for  God's  work  if  he  has  picked  his 
own  field — if  he  looks  out  for  some  easy  field.  Men 
that  do  that  are  good  for  nothing  in  God's  work.  Thou- 
sands of  men  are  willing  to  get  on  a  platform  and  speak  ; 
but  I  tell  you  men  are  scarce  that  are  willing  to  go  dov/n 
in  the  gutter — that  are  willing  to  train  a  boy  for  eternity. 
Men  are  very  scarce  that  are  willing  to  save  a  drunkard. 
Plenty  of  men  are  willing  to  preach — to  get  on  a  plat- 
form, and  preach  and  exhort,  and  do  that  kind  of  work  ; 
but  workers  are  very  scarce  who  will  labor  with  a  drunk- 
ard, or  deal  with  men  one  at  a  time."  Now  my  dear 
friends,  if  you  want  to  be  used  by  God,  don't  you  be 
picking  your  field  ;  but  say  :  "  Here  I  am.  Lord.  Send 
me  where  you  will.     Let  me  be  among  hewers  of  wood 


DIVINE   CHOICE    OF   INSTRUMENTS.  1 53 

and  drawers  of  water — anything,  so  that  the  temple  of 
God  is  being  built."  Work  that  3^ou  do  in  that  spirit 
isn't  small.  You  can't  touch  God's  work  with  the  right 
motive  without  touching  Him,  and  you  can't  touch  Him 
without  receiving  virtue.  It  is  impossible  for  a  man  to 
touch  God's  work  with  the  right  m.otive  without  being 
touched  himself  and  blessed.  You  remember  when  Eli- 
jah was  on  Carmel  praying  for  rain,  how  he  sent  his 
servant  to  see  if  there  was  any  sign  of  rain.  The  serv- 
ant came  back  and  said  there  was  no  sign  of  rain.  The 
old  man  bowed  his  head,  and  prayed,  and  said  :  "  Go 
again,  and  look  toward  the  sea."  The  servant  came 
back  and  said  there  was  no  sign.  He  just  kept  on  pray- 
ing, and  sent  the  servant  a  third  time,  and  a  fourth  time, 
a  fifth  time,  a  sixth  time.  Still  there  was  no  sign.  If 
he  had  been  a  quick-tempered  m.an,  I  suppose  he  would 
have  got  out  of  temper.  There  was  the  sun  burning 
away,  and  the  ground  all  cracked  up.  But  the  seventh 
time  the  servant  comes  back,  and  Elijah  asks  him  if 
there  is  any  sign  of  rain.  He  says,  in  a  sort  of  indiffer- 
ent way  :  "  Well,  yes.  I  don't  know  as  it  is  much  of  a 
sign.  I  saw  a  little  cloud.  It  didn't  amount  to  much. 
It  wasn't  any  bigger  than  a  man's  hand."  "What  do 
you  say?  Saw  a  cloud  !  Saw  a  cloud  coming  up  out 
of  the  Mediterranean  ?  Saw  a  cloud  ?  "  "  Yes."  "  Well ; 
go  and  tell  Ahab  to  make  haste  and  get  out  of  the  rain, 
or  he  will  have  a  good  drenching  before  he  gets  home." 
Perhaps  a  good  many  people  were  skeptical  ;  but  in  a 
moment  there  was  abundance  of  rain.  The  Almighty 
was  in  that  cloud.  He  sent  that  cloud.  It  came  up  in 
answei  to  prayer,  and  God  was  in  it,  and  that's  enough. 
Anything  that  God  is  in,  don't  3'ou  call  it  small.  If  God 
calls  you  to  take  a  little  child  and  train  it  for  His  king- 
dom, don't  you  think  that  is  a  small  work.  I  remember 
being  a  guest  of  a  family  a  little  while  ago,  and  there 

7* 


154  A  COLLEGE   OF  COLLEGES. 

was  a  young  lady  in  the  house.  I  said  to  her  :  "  What 
is  your  work  ? "  She  said  :  "  I  have  got  a  Sunday-school 
class."  Said  I  :  "  That  is  a  grand  thing  for  a  young 
Christian  to  begin  with.  I  don't  think  you  could  do 
better.  I  noticed  you  in  the  meeting  to-day."  "  Yes  ; 
I  was  there."  "I  thought  you  had  a  Sabbath-school 
class  at  three  o'clock."  "  So  I  had."  "  Did  you  get  any 
one  to  take  your  place  to-day  ?  Did  you  tell  the  super- 
intendent 3'ou  weren't  going  to  be  there?"  "No,  sir." 
"  Did  you  tell  your  class  you  weren't  going  to  be  there  ? " 
"  No,  sir."  "  How  do  you  know  they  had  any  one  to 
teach  them  to-day  ? "  "I  don't  think  they  had,  for  I  saw 
most  of  our  teachers  at  your  meeting."  "  That  is  not 
the  way  to  do  the  Lord's  work."  "Well,  Mr.  Moody; 
I  have  only  fxve  small  boys  and  I  didn't  think  it  would 
make  any  difference."  My  dear  friends,  don't  think 
lightly  of  it  if  you  have  "  only  five  small  boys."  There 
may  be  a  Wesley  in  that  class.  There  may  be  a  Martin 
Luther.  There  may  be  a  Reformation  slumbering  in 
one  of  those  boys.  There  may  be  a  preacher  who  will 
go  out  and  stir  tens  of  thousands.  When  a  man  or 
woman  looks  on  God's  work  in  that  light,  they  ain't  fit 
for  that  work.  Do  you  suppose  Mrs.  Wesley  knew  what 
she  was  doing  when  she  v/as  training  John  and  Charles 
Wesle}^  ?  She  might  have  thought  her  work  very  ob- 
scure— that  she  wasn't  accomplishing  much.  Probably 
she  never  went  on  a  platform  in  her  life — never  was  in 
a  ladies'  meeting.  But  she  trained  John  and  Charles 
Wesley  for  a  work  which  is  now  carried  on  by  more 
than  a  hundred  thousand  ministers.  It  is  estimated 
that  twenty-five  million  people  are  adherents  of  that 
one  denomination.  Look  at  the  men  blessed  in  that 
denomination.  Look  at  the  people  brought  out  in  the 
Methodist  meetings.  Think  of  the  work  she  has  done. 
Eternity  alone  will  tell  what  that  woman  has  accom* 


DIVINE   CHOICE   OF   INSTRUMENTS.  1 55 

plished.  She  has  only  been  gone  about  a  hundred  and 
fifty  years  ;  but  she  has  set  a  stream  in  motion  that  will 
go  on  and  brighten  till  the  day  dawn.  It  was  a  small 
work — it  might  have  been  looked  down  upon  while  she 
lived  ;  but  in  the  sight  of  Heaven  it  was  a  mighty  work. 
Anything  that  God  is  in,  don't  call  it  small.  Look  at 
that  saint  in  Bethany.  If  they  had  had  newspapers  in 
those  days,  and  they  had  been  told  that  something  was 
going  to  happen  out  in  Bethany  that  day  that  should 
outlive  all  the  monuments  that  have  been  erected  on 
this  earth — outlive  the  Csesars,  and  Alexander,  and  all 
the  mighty  conquerors  ;  something  that  should  be  more 
lasting  than  any  marble,  bronze,  or  granite  ;  why,  what 
a  rush  there  would  have  been  there  of  reporters.  And 
suppose  they  had  seen  I^.Iary  bring  out  her  alabaster 
box,  do  you  suppose  they  would  have  put  that  in  the 
paper  ?  "  Why  ;  the  Jerusalem  public  wouldn't  be  inter- 
ested in  that.  Our  readers  wouldn't  care  for  that." 
But  have  you  ever  thought,  that  thing  has  outlived  all 
the  great  men  that  h'ave  trod  this  footstool  ?  Kingdoms 
have  come  and  gone  ;  empires  have  risen  and  faded 
away ;  men  have  reigned  and  gone  down  to  their  graves 
and  no  one  knows  anything  about  them.  But  Mary  of 
Bethany  is  the  best-known  woman  in  history  to-day. 
Not  a  woman  shines  brighter.  What  did  she  do  ?  She 
just  took  an  alabaster  box,  and  anointed  Jesus  Christ 
for  His  burial.  She  just  did  that  one  thing.  Nov/,  we 
are  not  told  she  was  a  gifted  woman.  We  are  not  told 
she  was  a  cultured  vroman.  We  are  not  told  she  eve- 
stood  on  a  platform  and  exhorted  people,  or  ever  lee 
tured.  We  are  not  told  she  was  a  strong-minded  wom- 
an— an  advocate  of  woman's  rights,  or  anything  of  that 
kind.  But  there  was  one  thing  she  could  do.  She 
could  sit  at  the  feet  of  Jesus  Christ,  commune  with 
Him,  catch  His  spirit,  and  break  that  alabaster  box  and 


156  A  COLLEGE   OF  COLLEGES. 

anoint  Him.  The  fragrance  of  that  ointment  is  in  this 
house  to-night ;  and  there  never  was  a  night  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  world  when  it  was  better  known  than  it  is 
known  to-night.  To  the  end  of  time  that  story  shall  be 
told  as  a  memorial  of  her.  It  has  gone  to  the  corners 
01  the  earth.  They  say  that  story  has  been  put  into 
350  different  languages.  What  a  monument !  And  you 
know  the  tribute  Christ  paid  to  that  woman.  It  is  this  : 
"  She  hath  done  what  she  could."  That  is  enough.  If 
I  could  say  what  I  v/ould  rather  have  said  of  me  than 
anything  else  when  T  go  down  to  my  grave,  it  would  be 
these  v/ords  :  "  He  hath  done  what  he  could."  I'd 
rather  have  that  than  a  slab  of  pure  gold  reaching  to 
heaven. 

Young  men,  let  me  urge  you  to  do  what  you  can. 
God  doesn't  ask  you  to  do  what  you  can't  do.  "  This 
shall  be  said  as  a  memorial  of  her  :  she  hath  done  what 
she  could."  Let  us  do  what  we  can.  Let  us  not  be 
seeking  some  high  position;  but  let  us  get  down  at  the 
feet  of  the  Master,  and  be  willing  to  let  God  use  us — to 
let  Him  breathe  His  Spirit  upon  us  and  send  us  out  to 
His  work.  If  you  can't  be  a  light-house,  you  can  be  a 
tallow  candle.  I  remember  when  I  was  preaching  in  a 
log-house  on  the  frontier,  the  announcement  was  made  : 
"Mr.  Moody  will  preach  at  early  candle-light."  As 
darkness  grew  over  the  road  I  would  go  to  the  old  log 
school-house.  I  would  get  there  first.  An  old  woman 
would  come  in  v/ith  one  tallow  dip,  and  she  would  set 
this  on  end.  It  didn't  give  much  light ;  but  if  you  had 
nothing  else,  you  would  be  glad  of  a  tallow  candle.  The 
next  v/oman  that  would  come  would  bring  a  light,  and 
stick  that  up  on  the  desk.  The  next  woman  would  bring 
a  lamp,  and  bring  it  out  from  under  her  shawl.  Every  one 
brought  alight  with  her,  and  before  long  we  had  plenty 
of  light.     My  friends,  let  every  one  of  you  bring  your 


DIVINE   CHOICE   OF   INSTRUMENTS.  1 5/ 

light — be  it  large  or  small — and  v/e  vv^ill  soon  light  up 
this  dark  earth.  Take  what  you  have  got,  and  do  what 
you  can.  I  remember  hearing  of  a  man  that  had  a 
dream.  He  was  one  of  those  men  that  are  ambitious  to 
do  some  great  thing  for  the  Lord  ;  but  he  had  never 
been  successful.  He  was  always  trying  to  do  some  great 
thing  and  never  succeeded  ;  and  I  never  saw  a  man  to 
succeed  in  my  life  that  was  all  the  time  waiting  to  do 
some  great  thing.  One  night  this  man  dreamed  that  he 
was  taken  to  see  a  beautiful  temple,  built  of  polished 
stones.  It  was  all  built  with  one  exception  :  there  was 
one  stone  left  out.  Said  he:  "What  is  this  stone  left 
oat  for?"  "Ah,"  said  the  master-builder,  "one  of  the 
stones  v/anted  some  higher  place,  and  so  I  left  it  out 
entirely."  The  man  woke  up,  and  learned  the  lesson. 
After  that  he  was  v/illing  to  go  into  any  chink  in  the 
temple.  Let  us  do  Vv'hat  we  can.  Let  us  not  wait  till 
we  get  home — get  to  college — get  to  the  seminary  ;  but 
every  day  you  will  find  something  to  do.  I  gave  down 
here  in  the  Glen  the  other  day  this  motto  :  "  Do  all  the 
good  you  can,  to  all  the  people  you  can,  in  all  the  ways 
you  can,  as  long  as  ever  you  can." 


CHAPTER    XIV, 


INDIA    FOR   CHRIST. 


Address  by  the  Rev.  Jacob  Chamberlain,  M.D.,  D.D.,  of  the  Arcot 
Mission,  Madanapalle,  India — Hindostan  and  its  People — Lan- 
guages, Religion  and  Morals — Caste  and  the  Endowed  Temples — 
Methods  of  Missionary  Work — Significant  Admissions  of  Brah- 
mins— Heathenism  Crumbling — Inviting  Opportunities — Three 
Calls — History  and  Prophecy. 

The  world  was  never  so  open  to  evangelistic  efforts  of 
every  kind  as  at  the  present  day.  Never  have  there 
been  such  evangelistic  agencies,  so  organized,  so  pre- 
pared, ready  to  push  on  into  all  the  world. 

It  would  be  instructive  to  reviev/  the  centuries  from 
the  time  when  the  echoes  of  our  Saviour's  last  command 
reverberated  down  from  His  ascension  car.  It  would  be 
stimulating  to  see  how  wonderfully  the  doors  of  entrance 
to  all  the  nations  have  been  opened  during  the  lifetime 
of  some  of  us  ;  for  those  of  us  who  are  not  yet  very  aged 
remember  well  the  earnest  petitions  that  we  used,  in  our 
childhood,  to  hear  in  the  monthly  concerts  that  God 
would  open  the  doors  for  the  missionary  and  the  Gospel 
to  enter  the  then  closed  nations  of  the  earth.  Now  the 
door  to  every  nation  has  been  opened — opened?— they 
have  been  torn  from  their  hinges  and  trodden  in  the 
dust  and  can  never  more  be  shut. 

But  time  forbids  our  delaying  to  recall  these  cheering 
providences  of  the  past,  or  even  to  glance  at  the  marvel- 
lous openings  now  taking  place  in  every  missionary 
country  the  world  around.  Our  view  this  evening  must 
(158) 


INDIA   FOR   CHRIST.  1 59 

be  chiefly  restricted  to  one  missionary  field  and  God's 
marvellous  doings  in  it,  and  the  opportunity,  unprece- 
dented in  the  history  of  the  world,  for  victorious  service 
there.  Let  us,  however,  on  our  way  to  that  land,  cast  a 
single  glance  at  another  field. 

Have  you  heard  the  bugle-call  from  the  Island  Empire 
of  Japan,  in  that  significant  paper  recently  given  to  the 
American  churches  through  the  religious  press — a  paper 
signed  by  every  missionary  of  the  United  Church  of 
Christ  in  Japan,  in  which  they  set  forth  the  opportuni- 
ties unfolding  with  such  bewildering  rapidity,  and  sum- 
mon the  Church  of  Christ  to  special  united  effort  during 
the  remaining  thirteen  years  of  this  century,  and  declare 
their  conviction  that,  if  the  Church  of  Christ  seizes  its 
opportunities,  that  whole  emipire  may  be  brought  to 
Christ  before  the  year  1900  strikes  on  the  clock  of  time, 
and  that  then  Japan  will  join  its  forces  with  those  of  the 
other  Christian  nations  for  the  conquest  of  Korea, 
Siberia,  and  North  China  to  the  sway  of  the  Prince  of 
Peace. 

But  I  ask  you  to  come  with  me  now  to  the  land  of  the 
Vedas,  the  land  of  the  Ganges,  to  which  I  have  given 
more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century  of  my  life,  and  discern 
with  me  the  on-coming  conflict,  nay,  the  conflict  now  at 
its  thickest,  with  its  promises  of  glorious  victory  or  of 
direst  defeat.  "  The  watchman  said.  The  morning  com- 
eth — and  also  the  nig  lit.'' 

India  is  the  home  of  one-sixth  of  the  whole  human 
race.  Reaching  as  it  does  from  the  burning  tropical 
sands  of  Cape  Comorin,  within  eight  degrees  of  the 
Equator,  up  2,000  miles  to  the  forever-frozen  peaks  of 
the  Himalaya  Mountains  on  the  north,  and  from  Afghan- 
istan on  the  west  through  1,800  miles  to  Indo-China  on 
the  east,  we  have  a  country  that  is  inhabited  by  252,000,- 
000  of  people.     India  is  equal  to  about  one-half  of  the 


l6o  A   COLLEGE   OF   COLLEGES. 

area  of  the  United  States  ;  or  to  speak  a  little  more  accu- 
rately, if  j'ou  draw  a  line  from  Dakota  south  through 
Texas,  India  is  equal  in  size  to  that  part  of  the  United 
States  which  falls  eastward  of  that  line — from  Dakota  to 
Texas,  from  Maine  to  Florida — and  it  has  five  times  the 
population  of  the  whole  of  the  United  States  by  the  last 
census. 

The  people  of  India  are  not  a  homogeneous  people  ; 
not  of  one  race  or  language.  It  is,  for  example,  as  if 
you  started  in  Spain  to  visit  all  Europe.  "Wishing  to 
talk  to  the  inhabitants,  you  must  talk  first  Spanish,  then 
Portuguese,  then  French,  then  Dutch,  then  German,  then 
Danish,  then  Swedish,  then  Finnish,  then  Russ,  then 
Polish,  then  Hungarian,  then  Bulgarian,  Roumanian  and 
Servian,  then  Turkish,  then  Greek  and  Italian,  and  many 
other  languages.  The  people  in  Europe  are  as  different 
as  their  languages.  There  are  forty  languages  spoken 
in  India  ;  man}^  of  them  very  ancient  languages,  very 
highl}^  wrought  out  and  finely  polished  ;  beautiful  and 
perfect  vehicles  for  the  presentation  of  Divine  truth. 
The  Sanskrit,  in  which  the  Vedas  were  written,  the  elder 
sister  of  the  Greek,  rivals  even  that  in  fullness  and 
power  and  beauty,  and  that  is  still  the  language  of  rit- 
ual in  all  India,  being  to  the  Hindus  all  that  Latin  is  in 
the  Romish  Church  and  even  more.  The  people  are  as 
different  as  their  languages  ;  not  of  one  cast  of  counten- 
ance, not  of  one  ethnological  descent. 

The  religion  of  the  people  of  India  is  one,  as  in 
Europe  in  the  time  of  Martin  Luther.  When  Luther 
was  born  there  were  in  Europe  many  languages,  many 
kingdoms,  many  different  races  ;  but  Europe  was  of  one 
religion,  Vv^ith  the  exception  of  the  Mohammedan  con- 
querors, who  had  conquered  Turkey  and  still  mamtained 
Mohammedanism.  Thus  it  is  in  India.  The  religion  of 
India  is  Brahminism,  or  Hinduism,  with  the  exception 


INDIA   FOR   CHRIST.  l6l 

of  the  descendants  of  the  Mohammedan  invaders  of 
some  seven  centuries  ago.  Of  these  40,000,000  remain 
in  India  still,  and  are  Mohammedan,  but  the  rest  of  the 
people  of  India  are  Brahminists.  Let  me  remind  you 
also,  very  briefly,  of  what  Brahminism  or  Hinduism  is. 
With  their  ancient  Ve'das,  the  most  ancient  of  which  is 
believed  to  have  been  written  about  the  time  of  Moses, 
they  have  many  glimmerings  of  Noachic  traditions,  and 
many  pure  and  holy  ideas.  The  Ve'das  teach,  in  the 
main,  a  true  conception  of  God,  and  man,  and  sin,  and 
sacrifice.  But  though  they  have  these  ancient  Ve'das, 
and  these  purer  ideas  of  God  ;  as  man  wandered  into 
sin,  farther  away  from  God,  there  came  later  the  teach- 
ing and  the  practice  of  polytheism  and  idolatry,  until  at 
last  what  there  once  was  of  light  in  Asia  has  become 
darkness.  The  purer  religion  of  the  Vedas  degenerated 
into  polytheism  and  idolatry,  and  their  purer  morals 
gave  place  to  sensuality,  corruption,  and  vice.  I  speak 
on  this  matter  as  a  physician  who  has  treated  many 
thousands  of  patients,  and  mingled  in  their  homes  from 
the  highest  to  the  lowest,  from  the  Rajah  on  his  throne 
to  the  beggar  in  his  hut,  when  I  say  that  there  is  no  such 
thing  as  purity,  or  virtue,  among  them.  And  I  have 
this  from  the  confessions  of  their  best  men.  "  Sir,"  said 
a  Brahmin  with  whom  I  was  confidentially  talking  about 
this,  "  sir,  there  is  not  a  family  among  us  that  is  not 
tainted  with  the  impure  disease."  Honesty  in  dealings 
is  scarcely  known.  Caveat  emptor  is  the  rule,  for  honest; 
is  not  expected  in  trade,  and  no  one  is  disappointed. 
And  as  for  the  truth,  although  their  ancient  Vedas, 
although  their  poets  and  sages,  call  on  the  people  to 
maintain  truth  as  their  choicest  heritag^ij  yet  there  is  no 
truth  among  the  people.  The  proverbs  of  the  people 
tell  what  they  are.  A  common  proverb  among  the 
Telugu  people   is,    Uniia  marta  cheppiie  tlru  atsa  rddu , 


l63  A   COLLEGE   OF  COLLEGES. 

i.  <?.,  "  If  a  man  tells  the  truth,  the  town  will  soon  become 
too  hot  for  him."  I  was  once  preaching  in  a  Telugu 
city.  It  was  the  first  time  the  Gospel  was  ever  preached 
there.  I  said  to  the  audience  which  had  gathered  in  the 
street  to  hear  me,  that  no  matter  what  their  religion 
might  be,  all  intelligent  people  admitted  certain  acts  to 
be  sinful.  I  mentioned  different  acts,  and  then  I  came 
to  falsehood.  As  I  went  on  expatiating  upon  that,  the 
audience,  an  educated  audience,  assented  to  what  I  said, 
and  admitted  that  lying  was  a  sin.  "  But,"  said  I,  "  you 
Hindus  tell  a  lie  as  often  as  you  tell  the  truth."  "  What, 
sir  ! "  said  a  Brahmin  right  before  me,  "  do  you  say  that 
we  Hindus  tell  a  lie  as  often  as  we  tell  the  truth  ? " 
"Yes,"  said  I,  intending  to  stand  my  ground.  "Sir," 
said  he,  "we  Hindus  tell  ten  lies  for  every  truth  we 
utter."     That  time  he  certainly  told  the  truth. 

Hinduism  has  two  chief  buhvarks  in  this  generation. 
They  are,  caste  and  the  endowed  temples.  Caste,  you 
know,  is  a  religious  distinction.  It  is  not  a  social  dis- 
tinction, but  one  of  birth  ;  for  Brahma  created  each 
caste  by  a  different  creation,  they  hold.  The  Brahmin 
claims  that  he  is  holier  than  the  rest  ;  and  if  v/e  yield  to 
caste  we  must  allow  him  to  say  to  the  rest  :  "  Stand  by 
thyself,  for  I  am  holier  than  thou."  If  we  give  place  to 
caste,  we  can  no  longer  proclaim  :  "  As  in  Adam  all 
died,  even  so  in  Christ  shall  all  be  made  alive,"  for  they 
hold  that  there  were  a  dozen  Adams.  Caste  is  so  firmly 
rooted  that  I  have  known  of  a  Brahmin  that  died  by 
starvation,  when  there  was  food  placed  by  his  side  for 
him  to  eat,  because,  forsooth,  that  food  was  cooked  by 
one  of  a  lower  caste.  "  Better  die,"  said  he,  "  and  reach 
Heaven,  than  eat  that  food  and  live,  and  lose  caste  and 
lose  Heaven."  Caste,  then,  is  the  adamantine  chain 
which  Satan  has  wound  around  these  people  to  hold  them 
back  from  embracing  the  truth. 


INDIA   FOR  CHRIST.  163 

The  second  great  bulwark  which  supports  the  system 
IS  its  myriads  of  Endowed  Temples.  From  Cape 
Comorin  to  the  Himalaya  Mountains,  they  dot  every 
hill-top  and  every  plain,  endowed  in  former  ages  with 
rich  lands — the  choicest  of  the  fields.  All  the  revenues 
of  those  lands  go  to  the  support  of  the  priesthood,  who 
carry  on  the  ceremonies  of  the  temples.  If  Christianity 
prevails,  the  Brahmins  will  cease  to  reap  those  revenues. 
Therefore,  like  Demetrius  of  old,  they  call  their  fellow- 
craftsmen  together  and  say  :  "  Sirs,  by  this  craft  we 
have  our  wealth,"  and  lock  arms  to  defend  their  ancient 
system  against  the  missionary.  I  well  remember  what 
was  said  to  me  after  a  discussion  which  we  had — another 
missionary  and  myself — in  the  Mysore  country,  in  a  city 
v/here  no  missionary  had  been  before,  with  the  chief 
priest  of  that  region,  the  President  of  their  Theological 
Seminary,  if  I  might  use  the  term,  for  there  were  seventy 
young  Brahmins  studying  under  him  for  the  priesthood. 
He,  surrounded  by  his  disciples,  had  come  to  meet  us  in 
the  market-place,  and  we  had  had  a  discussion  v/hich 
lasted  hour  after  hour  before  the  assembled  multitude. 
He  had  been  pushed  to  the  wall  ;  but  at  last,  darkness 
coming  on,  he  said  there  was  no  time  to  discuss  farther 
then,  but  he  would  renew  the  discussion  the  next  even- 
ing if  we  were  there.  But  he  did  not  wait  for  the  next 
evening.  At  noon  the  next  day,  when  all  the  people 
were  in-doors  at  their  midday  meal,  he  stole  out  of  the 
northern  gate  of  the  city,  and,  coming  around  through 
the  rice-fields  and  behind  the  trees  to  our  tent,  asked  if 
he  might  come  in.  "Certainly."  "  May  I  let  down  the 
curtain  of  the  tent  ?  "  "  Certainly."  "  Is  there  any  one 
in  hearing  besides  yourselves  ?  "  "  No  ;  all  our  people 
are  away  at  their  dinner." 

At   once   his  whole    mien    and    appearance   changed. 
"  Sirs,"  said  he  to  us,  "  what  you  said  yesterday  in  the 


164  A   COLLEGE   OF   COLLEGES. 

market-place  was  utterly  unanswerable.  I  did  the  best 
I  could  to  defend  my  own  position,  surrounded  as  I  was 
by  my  own  disciples  ;  but  I  am  ncjt  going  to  meet  you 
again.  "What  3^ou  said  is  so  pure,  so  holy,  so  good,  it 
appeals  so  to  the  highest  needs  and  desires  of  men,  that 
it  seems  as  if  it  must  be  Divine,  it  must  be  true.  At  all 
events,  it  is  a  better  religion  than  ours.  But,  sirs,  we 
Brahmins  cannot  afford  to  let  you  succeed.  Look  at 
our  position.  We  reap  the  rich  revenues  from  all  these 
temples.  We  are  treated  as  demigods  by  the  people. 
At  every  festival  we  receive  rich  gifts.  We  are  looked 
up  to  and  worshipped.  But  let  your  system  succeed, 
which  teaches  that  there  need  be  no  human  mediator, 
no  mediator  betvv^een  God  and  man  but  Jesus  Christ,  and 
we  Brahmins  drop  from  our  high  pedestal  down  to  the 
level  of  what  we  are  worth,  and  you  know  v/hat  that 
means  as  well  as  we  do.  We  would  have  to  come  down 
from  our  exalted  position  and  mingle  with  the  ignoble 
throng.  No,  sir  !  Your  system  is  better  than  ours.  It 
is  so  pure,  so  holy,  so  good  ;  it  appeals  so  to  the  highest 
desires  of  the  human  soul,  that  it  seems  as  though  it 
must  be  Divine  ;  but,  sirs,  we  Brahmins  can't  afford  to 
let  you  succeed.  We  have  got  to  fight  you."  And  fight 
us  they  do. 

How,  then,  is  such  a  system,  defended  by  the  power 
of  caste  and  of  an  endowed  priesthood,  to  be  overcome? 
I  cannot  detain  you  to  state  at  length  the  particulars  of 
our  work.  I  must  simply  remind  you  that  we  mission- 
aries in  India,  as  I  trust  everywhere,  try  to  follow  our 
Master  in  the  oral  proclamation  of  the  Gospel  to  the 
people  everywhere,  carr3nng  it  to  them  in  the  highways 
and  the  byways,  in  their  towns,  their  villages,  their  ham- 
lets ;  at  their  markets,  and  their  fairs.  We  take  our 
tent  and  pitch  it  by  some  central  village,  and  preach  in 
that  and  each  of  the  surrounding  villages  within  a  radius 


INDIA  FOR  CHRIST.  165 

of,  say,  three  or  four  miles,  making,  perhaps,  forty  to 
eighty  villages,  before  moving  our  tent  on  to  another 
centre. 

We  go  into  the  market-place,  or  some  convenient 
street,  mount  upon  some  platform,  or  cart,  or  pile 
of  building-materials,  and  gather  the  people  together, 
and  preach  to  them  of  Christ  and  His  salvation.  In 
our  part  of  the  country  we  gather  them  by  the  voice  of 
song. 

The  eighteen  millions  of  Telugu  people,  among  whom 
I  have  labored  for  twenty-seven  years,  are  a  very  mu- 
sical people,  and  their  language  is  a  language  of  poetry 
and  song.  They  have  old  tunes  by  the  hundred,  not 
like  ours,  but  weird  and  sweet  and  pleasant,  which  they 
have  sung  through  twenty  generations — sung  to  be  sure 
in  the  praise  of  their  gods.  But  in  the  desperate  con- 
flict that  is  going  on  there  between  the  powers  of  light 
and  the  powers  of  darkness,  we,  anxious  to  seize  the 
devil's  choicest  weapons  to  thrust  him  with,  take  these 
old  and  dearly  loved  tunes  of  theirs  and  convert  them 
by  marrying  to  them  Christian  words,  and  set  them 
afloat  again  through  the  country  in  tracts  with  the  Gos- 
pel message  put  into  their  style  of  poetry,  and  adapted 
to  their  choicest  tunes,  with  the  name  of  the  fitting 
tune  printed  at  the  head  of  each  of  our  songs  of  re- 
deeming love. 

They,  curious  to  see  how  the  new  words  fit  the  old 
tune,  will  often  sing  and  sing  until  they  sometimes  sing 
the  Gospel  message  into  their  understanding.  They 
sing  awa}^  their  prejudices,  they  sing  the  love  of  Christ 
into  their  hearts,  and  thus  led,  come  to  Him  and  are 
saved. 

I  will  sing  you  one  of  those  sweet  tunes  that  linger  on 
the  ear  and  prompt  a  repetition,  which,  with  sweet  Gos- 
pel v>rords,  myself  and  native  assistants  have  thus  sung 


i66 


A  COLLEGE   OF  COLLEGES. 


in  hundreds  of  Hindu  towns  and  villages.     I  will  sing 
it  to  the  Telugu  Christian  words  : 


(Singing.)' 


Ni    clia  -  ra  -  na  -  mu  -  le 


nam -mi  -  ti 


nam-  mi  -  ti. 


fe^ 


^ZJZlt 


S 


i9-9 


Ni      pa    -    da  -  mu  -  le bat  -  ti  -  ti         bat  -  ti  -  ti. 


-& .^- 


m 


:^iiz^ 


f—^-^-  -^— a^-^^-v- 


1.  Dik  -  ki  -  ka     ni    -    ve 

2.  Ai  -  hi  -  ka    suk-ka-mu 


tsak-  ka  -  ga        ra 
nari  -  si  -  ti  nit 


ve? 

ya, 


^^ 


ife^^gE3=i 


Mik  -  ki  -  li       mrok-ku  -  du,     mrok-ku  -  du,    mrokku-  du. 
Ma  -  ha  -  M      dro  -  hi  -  ni,      dro  -  h.i  -  ni,      dro  -  hi  -  ni. 


Rendered  into  the  same  metre  in  English,  it  is  as  fol- 
lows : 


Refrain  :  Thy  refuge  would  I  seek,  blessed  Jesus,  blessed  Jesus. 
Thy  mercy-giving  feet  would  I  clasp,  blessed  Jesus. 


*  As  Dr.  Chamberlain  informs  me  that  the  Telugus  have  no  sense  of 
time  in  music,  this  melody  might  equally  well,  and  perhaps  more 
truthfully,  have  been  arranged  without  bars,  rests,  etc.  Some  ot  the 
notes  are  only  approximate.  It  is  impossible  to  depict  the  peculiar 
crooning,  quavering  effect  in  black  and  white. — Ed. 


INDIA   FOR   CHRIST.  167 

My  only  help  art  Thou.     Wilt  Thou  not  hear  me  ? 
For  on  Thee,  Thee  alone,  Thee  alone,  do  I  call. 
Refrain  :  Thy  refuge,  etc. 

The  fleeting  joys  of  earth  have  not  I  tasted? 
Traitor,  I  wandered  far,  wandered  far,  far  from  Thee. 
Refrain  :  Thy  refuge,  etc. 

My  own  works,  all  so  vile,  filled  with  pollution, 
I  abhor,  I  renounce.     Saviour,  turn  me  not  away. 
Refrain  :  Thy  refuge,  etc. 

My  nature  so  corrupt,  canst  Thou  not  change  it  ? 
Ease  my  pain,  O  my  God  !     Save  me,  Lord.     Save  me  now. 
Refrain  :  Thy  refuge,  etc. 

I  well  remember  how,  one  time  on  a  preaching  tour 
in  the  '*  regions  beyond,"  we  sang  this  song  to  call  the 
people  together  in  the  evening,  in  a  native  city  where 
they  had  never  before  heard  of  Jesus  Christ.  We  sang 
the  refrain  again  and  again.  Some  of  the  people  caught 
up  the  words  and  joined  us  in  the  singing.  We  preached 
to  them  of  this  Jesus  and  His  love  and  His  redemption. 
Singing  the  song  again  we  v/ent  back  to  our  tents.  In 
the  still  night  air,  after  we  had  retired  to  our  beds,  we 
heard  the  same  beautiful  tune,  and  listening  we  caught 
the  words  of  the  refrain  : 

•*  Ni  charanamul6  nammiti,  nammiti." 

And  then  they  took  up  the  words  of  the  song, 

"  My  only  help  art  Thou.     Wilt  Thou  not  heur  me  ?  " 

And  on  in  the  night,  mingled  with  my  sleep,  I  was  con- 
scious of  hearing  songs  of  redeeming  love  sung  by  Hin- 
dus, who  had  that  day,  for  the  first  time,  heard  of  the 
Redeemer,  Jesus. 

Thus  with  preaching  and  with  song  and  with  tract 


l68  A  COLLEGE   OF  COLLEGES. 

and  Scripture,  scattered  as  we  go,  do  we  canvas  the 
country  sowing  the  seed  of  the  kingdom,  and  the  seed  is 
taking  root.  We  go  over  the  ground  again  when  able, 
v\atcring  the  seed  ah-eady  sown,  and  scattering  anew, 
and  the  harvest  in  many  places  is  already  beginning  to 
appear. 

We  are  reaching  the  people  also  by  medical  work. 
You  know  that  many  of  us  missionaries  in  India  are 
physicians  as  well  as  ministers.  We  have  gathered  in 
thousands  from  all  the  villages  around,  simply  by  the 
knowledge  that  if  they  came  their  diseases  would  be 
healed.  They  have  come  from  hundreds,  from  thou- 
sands of  towns  and  villages  in  all  directions.  Scarcely 
a  day  that  we  do  not  have  those  from  more  than  a  hun- 
dred miles  away  present  in  our  dispensaries.  They  hear 
the  Gospel  read  ;  they  hear  the  proclamation  of  the 
Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ ;  they  listen  as  we  raise  the  voice 
of  prayer  to  Him  who  made  us  and  who  can  save  us  ; 
they  go  back  to  their  homes  ;  they  take  with  them  the 
tickets  on  which  are  printed  a  concise  statement  of 
Christian  truth.  They  take  these  with  them  to  their 
villages,  and  thus  the  truth  is  being  scattered  where  we 
have  never  set  foot. 

Our  schools  present  the  truths  of  Christianity.  Hea- 
then pupils  come  to  them  with  the  understanding  that 
they  will  study  what  the  Christians  do.  Every  one  of 
them  studies  the  Bible,  and  so  we  initiate  the  young 
into  the  pure  teachings  of  the  religion  of  Jesus.  Then 
we  have  our  caste-girls'  schools,  as  you  know,  for — glory 
be  to  God  ! — He  has  brought  the  mothers  and  the  wives 
and  the  daughters  of  America  to  the  front,  since  first  I 
went  to  India,  to  take  hold  of  the  work  of  lifting  up 
their  heathen  sisters  ;  and  we  have  these  girls*  schools 
now,  which  are  filled  with  the  highest  caste  of  Hindu 
young  women.      They   all   read    the   Bible,   learn   our 


INDIA   FOR   CHRIST.  169 

Christian  hymns,  study  our  catechisms,  and  come  to  a 
knowledge  of  the  truth  in  these  schools  ;  and  thus  we 
are  reaching  the  secluded  zenanas  everywhere.  And 
then  we  have  our  Anglo-vernacular  schools,  a  higher 
grade  of  school,  with  which  we  reach  young  men  pre- 
paring for  the  universities,  and  help  them  on  their  way 
in  that.  In  every  one  of  these  schools  the  Bible  is  stud- 
ied as  a  text-book  in  every  class  every  day  ;  and  to  show 
you  how  it  works,  let  me  give  you  a  single  incident. 

In  December,  1883,  I  received  one  day  a  very  singular 
petition.  It  came  from  Vayalpad,  the  count}^  town  of 
the  adjacent  county.  There  were  no  Christians  in  that 
county.  The  petition  was  brought  to  me  by  a  special 
messenger.  It  was  signed  by  the  chief  men  of  that 
Taluk  town,  not  one  of  whom  was  a  Christian.  They 
petitioned  me  to  receive  under  my  charge  the  Anglo- 
vernacular  school,  which  they  had  established  the  year 
before  for  teaching  their  sons — to  receive  it  under  my 
charge  as  a  mission  school,  and  to  introduce  the  Bible  as  a 
text-book  in  every  class  every  day. 

And  that  petition  was  signed  by  heathen.  Not  a 
Christian  was  there  ;  not  one  lived  in  the  town.  Sur- 
prised beyond  measure,  I  v/ent  out  at  once  to  see  them, 
and  see  if  they  were  in  earnest.  A  meeting  was  sum- 
moned of  all  interested  in  the  school.  I  read  this  peti- 
tion to  them.  I  said  :  "  Is  this  your  wish  ?  It  is  signed 
by  a  number  of  your  people.  The  request  is  that  this 
school  be  received  under  my  care,  and  that  the  Bible  be 
taught  in  every  class  every  day.  You  know  that  I  seek 
your  conversion  to  Christ.  I  make  no  secret  of  that. 
It  will  be  my  aim  to  present  the  truth  ;  to  present  the 
highest  truth  that  man  can  conceive  of,  and  with  that 
understanding,  do  you  wish  me  to  receive  the  school?" 
The  head-master  of  the  school,  a  Brahmin,  not  a  Chris- 
tian, but  who  had  himself  been  educated  in  a  mission 
8 


I/O  A  COLLEGE   OF  COLLEGES. 

school,  spoke  first,  telling  of  what  he  had*  learned  in  Ihat 
mission  school,  how  he  had  learned  to  reverence  the 
Bible,  and  how  anxious  he  was  that  these,  his  pupils, 
should  be  under  Biblical  instruction.  By  experience  he 
knew  what  the  Bible  did  for  one. 

Then  a  native  judge,  the  judge  of  four  counties,  spoke. 
He  was  a  high-caste  native  gentleman,  and  finely  edu- 
cated. He  could  use  the  English  language  with  as  much 
fluency  as  I  could  ;  and  yet  he  spoke  in  the  Telugu  lan- 
guage, because  he  addressed  the  audience  there  assem* 
bled.  His  speech  was  so  remarkable  that  when  I  reached 
home  I  wrote  it  down  in  English,  and  I  must  read  it  to 
you  now.  He  said  :  "  My  friends,  I  was  not  educated 
in  a  mission  school,  but  I  have  many  friends  who  were, 
and  who  studied  the  Bible  daily  in  school.  I  have  wit- 
nessed its  effects  upon  their  lives.  I  have  read  the  Bible 
myself,  privately,  a  great  deal.  I  have  come  to  know 
the  pure  and  beautiful  system  of  morality  it  inculcates. 
My  friends,  there  is  nothing  in  our  Vedas  that  can  com- 
pare with  it,  as  I  well  know  from  careful  examination. 
Let  your  sons  study  the  Bible.  They  need  not  become 
Christians  ;  there  is  no  compulsion  about  it ;  the  mis- 
sionaries never  force  any  one.  But  if  you  want  your  sofzs 
to  become  noble,  upright  men,  put  this  school  under  the  charge 
of  the  missionary,  and  have  the  Bible  taught  in  it  daily.  It 
will  make  your  sons  better  men,  and  you  will  be  the 
happier  parents.  My  friends,  I  have  but  one  son,  as  you 
know.  On  him  all  my  hopes  are  centred.  You  know  I 
am  able  to  send  him  where  I  please  for  his  education  ; 
but  I  want  him  to  be  a  noble,  earnest  man.  I  have, 
therefore,  sent  him  to  the  Madras  Christian  College  to 
be  educated,  and  there  he  studies  the  Bible  with  the 
missionaries  every  day.  This  tells  you  what  /think  of 
the  mission  schools,  and  of  the  Bible.  I  have  done." 
That  was  the  speech  of  a  non-Christian   Hindu.     By 


INDIA   FOR   CHRIST.  I7I 

unanimous  vote  the  school  was  placed  un^  er  my  charge. 
The  Bible  from  that  day  was  introduced  in  every  class  ; 
taught  by  our  catechists  ;  and  as  I  examined  the  school 
from  month  to  month  before  I  came  home,  I  found  there 
was  no  lesson  that  was  learned  with  more  avidity,  no 
examination  that  was  passed  better,  than  the  examina- 
tion of  those  pupils,  those  heathen  pupils,  in  the  Bible. 
And  so  we  are  reaching  the  young  men  of  India.  But 
notice  :  They  seek,  as  did  this  Hindu  judge,  to  obtain 
the  morality  of  the  Bible,  the  nobility  of  character  which 
its  precepts  give,  without  embracing  Christianity.  They 
forsake  their  old  religion.  They  neglect  their  ancient 
Scriptures.  They  sip  at  the  fountain  of  the  Bible,  but, 
alas  !  they  do  not  take  the  Jesus  of  the  Bible  to  be  their 
Saviour.  See  you  not  the  fearful  danger  that  lies  before 
them? 

In  the  various  ways  of  which  I  have  now  spoken,  and 
in  others  of  which  I  have  not  time  to  speak,  the  thirty- 
five  different  missionary  societies  laboring  in  India,  with 
their  658  ordained  missionaries,  have  been  diligently 
working,  sowing  the  seed,  and  preparing  for  the  harvest 
The  success  already  attained  is  not  small  in  numbers  ; 
but  what  does  it  count  among  252,000,000  of  people  ?  It 
is  true  that  the  Scriptures  in  twenty-five  languages  have 
been  scattered  throughout  the  hundred  thousand  vil- 
lages of  India.  These  Gospels  have  gone  into  ten  thou- 
sand villages  where  there  is  no  missionary,  no  native 
assistant,  and  not  a  Christian.  We  have  indeed  done 
something.  We  have  made  the  people  dissatisfied  with 
tlieir  own  system,  but  we  have  not  yet  given  them  Christ. 
Said  a  Brahmin  to  one  of  our  missionaries  out  in  the 
farther  corner  of  the  field,  who  was  visiting  that  village 
for  the  third  time  in  ten  years  :  "  Sir,  why  do  you  come 
to  us  as  you  do  ?  You  come  just  often  enough  to  make 
us  dissatisfied  with  our  old  religion.     You  shake  our 


1/2  A  COLLEGE   OF  COLLEGES. 

faith  in  our  ancient  gods.  You  do  not  come  enough  to 
explain  your  religion  to  us,  so  that  we  can  intelligently 
embrace  it.  Either  keep  away  entirely,  or  come  and 
bring  us  to  your  God  and  Saviour."  And  there  was 
truth  in  what  he  said.  The  mass  of  intelligent  men  all 
through  India  have  lost  faith  in  their  old  religion,  and 
now  Satan  comes  in  to  reap  the  harvest  from  the  seed 
that  we  missionaries  have  sown.  They  are  dissatisfied 
with  their  ancient  system,  and  he  brings  in  the  books  of 
John  Stuart  Mill-,  Herbert  Spencer,  and  Huxley,  and 
men  of  that  class — yes,  and  of  Bradlaugh  and  Madame 
Besant,  and  of  Voltaire  and  Thomas  Paine.  The  writ- 
ings of  these  are  scattered  all  through  India,  and  there 
are  presses  running  night  and  day,  casting  off  pages  by 
the  million  for  the  poisoning  of  these  awakened  Hindu 
minds.  Anything  opposing  Christianity,  no  matter  how 
vile  it  be,  will  be  published  by  them  and  scattered 
through  the  country  broadcast.  The  whole  nation  is  on 
the  eve  of  coming  out  of  Hinduism  and  going  into — ■ 
what  .'*  "Sir,"  said  a  Brahmin  priest  to  me  one  day, 
"Hinduism  is  going.  What  is  to  take  its  place?"  I 
met  him  on  the  road  as  I  was  rapidly  riding  twenty 
miles  from  my  station  to  perform  a  surgical  operation. 
Seeing  me  coming,  looking  intently  at  me  as  I  ap- 
proached, he  held  up  his  hands  to  arrest  my  progress,  and 
eagerly  asked  me  :  "  Sir,  are  you  the  missionary  doctor 
from.  Madanapalle?"  "I  am,"  said  I.  "Well,  sir,  will 
you  please  stop  and  let  me  talk  with  you  a  little  ?  I 
have  come  in  on  foot  eighty  miles  to  see  )^ou,  and  now 
3'Ou  are  going  by,  away  from  your  home.  I  know  not 
v/licn  I  could  find  you  again.  Will  you  please  let  me 
have  a  little  conveisation  with  you  ?"  The  Master's  busi- 
ness is  always  my  business.  I  sprang  from  my  horse, 
and  let  him  rest  while  we  sat  under  a  banyan-tree  and 
o:)nversed.     "Sir,"  said  he,  "I  have  never  seen  a  mis- 


INDIA  FOR  CHRIST.  1 73 

sionary.  I  have  never  seen  your  Veda.  But  one  of  cut 
townsmen  went  to  your  hospital  and  was  healed,  and 
brought  a  ticket — a  little  ticket,  v.diich  you  give  your 
patients,  on  the  back  of  which  was  printed  a  statemcr.t 
of  your  religion.*  That  is  all  I  have  ever  seen.  He  told 
me  what  he  had  heard  of  your  preaching  at  the  hospital. 
That  is  all  I  have  ever  heard  of  your  religion.  We 
Brahmins  have  been  reading  that  Gospel  ticket.  It  has 
shown  us  that  Hinduism  is  not  the  complete  soul-satis- 
fying system  that  we  imagined  it  to  be.  We  have  talketi 
it  over.  Sir,  Hinduism  is  doomed.  It  must  go  by  the 
board.  Now,  I  have  come  all  this  way  to  ask  you,  What 
are  you  going  to  give  us  in  its  place  ? "  There,  seated 
under  the  banyan-tree,  I  tried  to  tell  him  of  the  pure  re- 
ligion of  Jesus  Christ,  which,  I  said,  we  were  going  to 
give  them  in  the  place  of  Hinduism  ;  and  as  I  talked 
with  him,  suddenly  my  voice  faltered,  my  tongue  clung 
to  the  roof  of  my  mouth,  cold  sweat  came  out  upon  me. 


*  The  printed  hospital  ticket  referred  to  contains  a  statement  of  Chris- 
tian truth,  of  which  the  following  is  a  translation  :  "  There  is  but  one 
true  God.  He  creates,  controls,  and  preserves  all  things  that  exist.  He 
is  sinless  :  but  we  are  filled  with  sin.  He,  to  take  away  our  sin,  gave 
His  own  Son  Jesus  Christ  to  come  into  the  world  as  a  Divine  Re- 
deemer. That  Divine  Redeemer,  Jesus  Christ,  gave  His  lif-e  a  pro- 
pitiatory sacrifice  for  us  ;  and  now,  whoever  believes  in  Him  and 
prays  to  Him  will  receive  remission  of  sins  and  eternal  life.  This  is 
what  the  true  Veda,  the  Holy  Bible,  teaches."  On  the  back  :  "The 
Telug^  poet  V6mana  says  : 

" The  soul  defiled  with  sin,  what  real  worship  pays  he? 
The  pot  unclean,  the  cookery  who  eats  it  ? 

The  heart  impure,  though  it  essays  devotion,  can  duty  receive  it? 
Nay,  nay  ;  be  pure,  O  man  ! 

To  give  us  this  very  purity  of  soul  spoken  of  by  your  own  poet 
our  Divine  Redeemer,  Jesus  Christ,  came  into  this  world.  Believe 
in  Him." 


174  A  COLLEGE   OF  COLLEGES. 

I  cou/d  not  speak.  Said  I  to  myself  :  "Am  I  telling  this 
man  true,  or  am  I  telling  him  false  ?  Are  we  going  to 
give  to  India — to  these  teeming  and  now  awakened  mill- 
ions— are  we  going  to  give  them  the  religion  of  our 
Jesus  ?  Or  are  we  going  to  awaken  them,  and  dissatisfy 
them  with  their  own  system,  and  then  leave  them  to 
drift  out  into  skepticism,  or  rationalistic  Deism,  or  blank 
Agnosticism  ?  That  is  what  they  are  drifting  to,  and 
that  does  not  interfere  with  their  caste,  and  the  enjoy- 
ment of  the  revenues  of  the  Hindu  temples.  Shall  we 
let  them  go  out  into  that  realm  of  darkness  ?  Shall  the 
ruins  of  Hindu  temples  be  built  up  into  temples  for  Sa- 
tan, or  into  temples  for  the  Most  High  God  ?" 

There  is  a  "  tide  in  the  affairs  of  men  "  in  matters  spir- 
itual as  well  as  temporal.  That  tide  in  India  is  now  at 
its  flood.  If  it  recedes,  the  advantages  that  w^e  now 
have  will  never  again  be  offered.  There  is  not  a 
province  from  Cape  Comorin  to  the  Himalaya  Moun- 
tains where  Hinduism  stands  firm,  unshaken,  on  its 
ancient  basis.  There  is  not  a  caste  or  a  creed  in  all 
India  whose  serried  ranks  do  not  show  gaps  made  by 
those  who  have  deserted  them  and  enlisted  under  the 
banner  of  King  Immanuel.  The  thirty-five  missionary 
societies  now  in  India  are  coming  together  and  locking 
arms  for  the  conflict.  The  strategic  points  all  over  India 
have  been  gained.  Plans  for  the  final  attack  are  ma- 
tured. The  enemy  is  awakening  and  dispirited.  Already 
do  v^^e  see  them  on  their  citadels  loosening  the  halyards, 
prepared  to  let  down  the  flag  and  surrender,  if  a  vigor- 
ous assault  be  made.  But,  alas  !  our  forces  on  the  field 
are  still  too  weak  to  make  that  assault.  We  send  back 
an  appealing  voice  to  our  home  churches  in  all  the  lands 
that  support  us,  asking  them  to  hasten  on  the  reinforce- 
ments, that  the  final  assault  may  now  be  made.  We 
strain  our  ears  to  catch  the  reply.     What  is  it  that  we 


INDIA    FOR   CHRIST.  I75 

hear?  "  Hold  on  !  You  are  going  too  fast.  The  Church 
at  home  cannot  afford  to  let  you  advance  any  farther. 
Hold  what  you  have  gained  if  you  can  ;  but  the  Church 
of  Christ  is  too  poor  to  let  you  go  on  to  the  final  assault 
for  victory."  O  merciful  Jesus  !  is  it  thus  that  we, 
redeemed  by  Thy  precious  blood — we  for  v/hom  on  Cal- 
vary Thou  didst  cry  in  agony,  "My  God,  why  hast  Thou 
forsaken  Me  ? " — we,  bought  by  the  blood-sweat  drops 
in  Gethsemane — is  it  thus  that  we  show  the  measure  of 
our  love  to  Thee  ? 

Oh,  Church  of  the  living  God,  awake  ! — arise  from 
your  lethargy,  and  spring  forward  to  the  conflict.  Give 
your  choicest  sons,  your  loveliest  daughters,  to  this  war 
of  Immanuel.  Consecrate  to  Him  3^our  silver  and  your 
gold.  Fill  up  the  mission  treasuries  to  the  overflow. 
Let  a  shout  go  forth  that  shall  leap  over  seas  and  conti- 
nents, and  reach  the  ears  of  your  v/aiting  hosts  in  those 
distant  lands.  And  w^hat  shall  that  shout  be  ?  Shall  we 
catch  the  cry  :  "  March  onward  !  Seize  every  point  of 
vantage.  Call  upon  the  enemy  to  surrender  :  Reinforce- 
ments five  thousand  strong  are  on  the  way.  Supplies  in 
abundance  are  coming.  March  on,  and  conquer  the  land 
for  Christ ! "  This  is  the  shout  that  we  long  to  hear, 
but  it  has  not  come.     Shall  it  be  long  delayed  ? 

But  I  am  asked  :  "  Can  the  men  and  the  sinews  of  war 
for  this  stupendous  battle  be  obtained?"  When  Lin- 
coln, in  the  early  days  of  the  v/ar,  issued  his  call  for 
75,000  volunteers,  the  military  officers  in  India  by  whom 
we  were  surrounded  said  with  a  sneer  :  "Yes,  your  rail- 
splitting  President  calls  for  75,000  volunteers.  We 
would  like  to  see  him  get  them."  And  when  the  cable 
told  us  that  the  roll  of  75,000  was  filled — that  word  had 
to  be  sent  out  to  stop  the  enrolment,  as  so  many  more 
offered — our  military  friends  then  said  :  "Yes  ;  but  you 
can't  raise  the  money  to  put  them  into  the  field  and  pay 


176  A  COLLEGE   OF  COLLEGES. 

them."  But  the  men  and  women  of  the  North  said  ' 
"Send  them  into  the  field.  We  will  raise  the  needed 
funds."  And  right  royally  was  the  promise  fulfilled 
throughout  the  dark  conflict.  Brothers,  we  must  have 
an  army  of  75,000  to  conquer  India  for  Christ.  The  pri- 
vates for  the  army  we  will  enlist  there.  We  must  have 
5,000  "  West  Point  officers  "  within  five  years  to  lead 
that  army.  They  must  be  men  from  America  and 
Europe,  trained  for  the  conflict  in  the  older  Christian 
lands.  Young  men,  God  calls  for  volunteers.  You  dare 
not,  you  wish  not  to  hold  back  when  Jehovah  summons 
you.  There  has  been  no  greater  inspiration  in  this  coun- 
try than  the  springing  forward  within  the  past  twelve 
months  of  2,500  young  men  and  women  in  America 
enrolling  themselves  thus  as  volunteers.  But  the  faith- 
less question  is  asked  :  "  Is  it  possible  for  the  Church  to 
send  out  and  support  such  a  great  number  of  new 
recruits?"  That  question  is  born  not  of  faith,  but  of 
fear.  Behold  God's  triangle  !  He  has  created  the  open- 
ing by  His  marvellous  providences.  By  His  Spirit  He 
has  called  for  these  volunteers,  and  they  have  responded. 
The  apex  of  the  triangle  only  needs  the  funds.  The  sil- 
ver and  the  gold  are  the  Lord's.  God's  triangle  is  never 
incomplete.  Vow  your  vow  of  service  here  to  God.  Go 
to  your  homes  and  your  churches,  and  tell  them  what 
God  has  done  for  your  souls — how  He  has  given  you 
this  glorious  summons  to  His  higher  service.  The  con- 
secration v/ith  which  at  His  summons  you  have  conse- 
crated yourselves  will  prove  contagious.  "  Holiness  to 
the  Lord "  is  already  beginning  to  be  inscribed  upon 
even  the  bells  of  the  horses  among  our  millionaires  as 
well  as  among  the  poorer  of  God's  flock,  or  all  the  signs 
of  the  times  are  misleading.  Prepare  yourselves  for  the 
conflict.  Pack  your  trunks  and  bring  them  to  the 
wharf.     Trust  God  to  pay  your  passage  and  to  support 


INDIA   FOR  CHRIST.  1 77 

you  in  the  field.  I  don't  mean  that  you  are  to  ignore 
the  Boards  of  Foreign  Missions.  By  no  means.  They 
are  the  best  qualified  judges  of  your  fitness  for  the  work. 
If  they  find  you  fitted  for  such  service,  they  dare  not,  in 
the  light  that  God  has  now  let  in  upon  His  Church — 
they  dare  not  stand  between  you  and  Jehovah's  marching 
orders.  Young  men,  in  the  name  of  our  Immanuel,  I 
ring  out  the  call  for  5,000  volunteers  for  this  glorious 
warfare. 

My  friends,  my  coming  to  this  conference  was  not  of 
viy  planning.  Other  important  work  to  the  full  for  these 
weeks  had  been,  as  I  thought  providentially,  thrown  be- 
fore me,  and  I  had  undertaken  to  do  it.  God  overruled. 
Six  days  ago  two  of  those  appointments  were  unexpect- 
edly and  for  good  reason  cancelled  and  placed  at  a  latei 
date,  leaving  this  week  entirely  disengaged.  "  Now,  you 
will  have  a  whole  week  for  rest,"  said  my  wife.  "  Yes,** 
was  my  reply  ;  "  unless  God  pilches  in  some  other  work 
before  me."  It  had  hardly  been  said  before  a  telegram 
signed  "  D.  L.  Moody  "  was  placed  in  my  hands,  asking 
me  to  come  and  render  service  at  this  conference.  I 
placed  the  two  things  together.  It  was  to  me  God's 
call.  I  dared  not  disobey.  Earnestly  in  prayer  did  I 
seek  to  know  from  Him  what  message  He  would  send 
by  me  to  this  conference.  I  looked  at  the  printed  call. 
My  eye  lighted  at  once  upon  the  fact  that  it  was  not 
alone  for  college  students,  but  for  Y.  M.  C.  A.  officers 
and  workers  as  well.  As  I  thought  and  prayed,  God 
seemed  to  put  three  messages  in  my  mind  which  He  re- 
quired me  to  deliver.  Each  day  and  hour  since  have 
those  messages  been  deeper  impressea  upon  my  soul. 
The  first  I  have  delivered  to  you,  young  men.  He  sends 
another.  There  are  in  India  60,000  young  converts  to 
be  trained  for  the  work.  They  have  not  the  life,  the 
energy,  the  spiritual  earnestness  for  the  work  of  saving 
8* 


178  A   COLLEGE   OF   COLLEGES. 

Other  souls  that  we  have  longed  to  see  in  them.  Theil 
piety,  their  devotedness  to  Christ,  we  do  not  question. 
But  they  have  not  inherited  the  capacity  for  organized 
vigorous  effort.  They  do  not  know  how  to  touch  their 
fellows.  We  need  in  India  the  life,  the  fire,  the  method 
which  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.'s  are  giving  to  the  young  men  in 
America.  We  need  organized  effort  all  along  the  line. 
My  second  message,  then,  is  to  you,  representatives  of 
the  Y.  M.  C.  A.'s  here  present.  Will  you  help  us  win 
India  for  Christ  ?  In  our  great  cities  there  is  abundance 
of  material  to  work  upon  and  to  work  with.  Our  col- 
leges, our  universities,  our  schools,  all  give  you  abundant 
scope.  Send  us  out  one  of  your  best-trained  general 
secretaries — trained  in  the  school  of  failure  as  well  as  in 
that  of  success — that  we  may  know  that  he  will  endure. 
He  need  know  no  language  but  English  ;  for  his  labor 
should  be  given  to  laying  the  foundations  all  through 
India — not  among  the  people  of  one  language — and  for 
such  work  the  English  is  sufficient.  Let  him  be  a  man 
of  experience,  of  spiritual  power,  of  hopefulness,  of  tact. 
With  him  send  us  five  younger  men  to  be  general  secre- 
taries in  the  five  capitals  of  India  :  Calcutta,  Madras, 
Bombay,  Allahabad,  Lahore.  They  will  need  to  learn 
each  the  vernacular  of  his  Presidency.  In  those  cities 
they  will  find  universities,  colleges,  high  schools  ;  in  all 
of  which  there  will  be  young  men  vv^ho  can  be  grouped 
together  into  Y.  M.  C.  A.'s,  using  the  English  language. 
With  them  can  be  joined  in  one  common  association  the 
many  Christian  young  men  who  are  engaged  in  business. 
There  can  be  branch  associations,  if  found  feasible,  in 
each  of  the  colleges  at  these  Presidencies.  There  need 
also  to  be  vernacular  associations,  to  get  hold  of  the 
large  number  of  young  men  who  know  only  their  native 
tongues.  For  they  too  can  be  trained  to  do  effective 
work,  if  energized  and  inspirited  by  Y.  M.  C.  A.  methods. 


INDIA  FOR   CHRIST.  I/g 

It  is  not  certain  that  in  every  one  of  these  centres  we 
shall  succeed  ;  but  we  cannot  too  soon  make  a  trial. 
Our  failures  in  one  place  may  teach  us  more  than  our 
successes  in  others.  There  is  no  need  for  organizing 
any  new  society  to  send  these  men  forth.  Let  it  be  the 
genuine  outgrowth  of  Young  Men's  Christian  Associa- 
tion work  here  in  America.  Let  each  large  city  associ- 
ation support  its  own  representative  in  some  foreign 
field.  Let  those  in  one  country  be  joined  together  under 
one  general  superintendent,  who  will  be  supported  by 
contributions  from  all  the  associations.  But  I  need  not 
mark  out  to  you  the  plan.  Yourselves  will  see  it.  As  I 
have  indicated,  the  vast  mass  of  our  young  men  going 
to  foreign  fields  will  be  engaged  in  already  existing 
agencies.  We  must  have  some  for  this  new  auxiliary 
corps  in  the  army. 

Mr.  Moody,  may  I  deliver  the  third  message,  which  I 
believe  God  has  sent  me  here  to  give  ?  [Assent  by  Mr. 
Moody.]  There  are  in  India  thousands  of  graduates 
from  our  universities  every  year  ;  hundreds  of  thousands 
from  our  schools.  All  these  know  English.  They  can 
be  reached  through  the  English  language.  They  are 
scattered  all  through  India,  three  millions  strong.  Some 
have  read  the  Bible.  All  these  have  lost  their  faith  in 
Hinduism,  or  their  faith  is  wavering.  Let  me  give  an 
incident  that  will  illustrate  their  position.  When  out 
upon  a  tour  in  1879,  in  a  county  where  there  was  not  a 
Christian,  a  native  official — high  in  office,  in  caste,  in 
social  position,  and  in  wealth — sent  a  message  to  me, 
saying  that  he  would  like  to  see  me  privately  for  the 
treatment  of  an  ailment.  At  the  appointed  time  he 
came  alone  to  my  tent.  To  my  surprise  I  found  that  he 
had  some  trifling  ailment,  the  treatment  of  which  was 
dispatched  in  a  few  moments.  I  v.^ondered  he  had  come, 
until  I  found  that  he  used  the  little  ailment  merely  as  a 


I80  A   COLLEGE   OF   COLLEGES. 

cover.  He  wanted  to  talk  with  me  about  Christianity 
and,  Nicodemus-like,  he  had  come  by  stealth.  He  in- 
troduced the  subject  himself.  After  an  extended  con- 
versation on  the  character  and  claims  of  Jesus  of  Naza- 
reth to  be  the  Saviour  of  the  world,  he  said  to  me  in 
substance  :  "  Sir,  I  am  not  a  Christian.  I  am  still  re- 
garded as  a  devout  Hindu.  I  still  perform  enough 
Hindu  ceremonies  to  avoid  suspicion.  But  in  my  heart 
I  dare  not  deny  the  claims  of  the  Bible.  I  see  the  power 
of  Jesus  Christ  in  the  lives  of  His  followers  so  distinctly  that 
I  cannot  deny  His  Divinity.  He  must  be  Divine,  or  He 
could  not  work  such  a  change  in  the  lives  of  those  who 
become  His  disciples.  He  is  not  yet  my  Saviour.  Caste, 
wealth,  position,  family,  all,  hold  me  back.  But  even 
nov*^  I  never  allow  Him  to  be  spoken  against  in  my  pres- 
ence. I  have  long  been  reading  the  Bible  in  secret. 
The  more  I  read  of  Christ  and  ponder  over  His  life  and 
teachings,  and  the  power  to  conquer  sin  that  comes  from 
embracing  His  religion,  the  more  do  I  feel  that  in  the 
end  I  shall  have  to  accept  Him  at  any  cost  as  my  per- 
sonal Saviour.  But  how  can  I  do  it,  and  bring  ruin 
upon  my  family  ? "  That  was  six  or  eight  years  ago. 
He  has  not  yet  come  to  the  Saviour.  There  are  thou- 
sands in  this  position  all  over  India.  They  are  not  being 
reached.  It  seems  to  us  on  the  ground  that  a  special 
agency  to  reach  these  men  is  needed.  Who  can  reach 
them  but  a  man  of  zeal,  of  energy,  of  indomitable  v/ill, 
of  inimitable  tact,  of  sympathy,  of  personal  magnetism — 
full  of  love,  filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost  ? 

D wight  L.  Moody,  do  yoti  not  hear  Jehovah's  clarion 
call  to  give  at  least  one  winter  of  royal  service  to  India's 
redemption  ?  In  the  name  of  the  650  missionaries  strug- 
gling on,  bearing  the  burden  and  heat  of  the  day — in 
the  name  of  the  700,000  Christian  converts  already  gath- 
ered, little   folds   scattered    through   the   wilderness  of 


INMA   FOR   CHRIST.  l8l 

heathendom — in  the  name  of  the  3,000,000  young  men 
who  know  English,  but  who  know  not  God — in  the  name 
of  the  250,000,000  of  India's  people  who  could  be  brought 
to  Christ  were  the  3,000,000  to  be  converted  and  go  forth 
as  messengers  of  the  Cross,  I  stand  before  you  in  this 
waking  vision  and  echo  the  call  :  "  Come  over  into  India 
and  help  us." 

With  a  bit  of  history,  that  is  both  history  and  proph- 
ecy, I  close.  Five  hundred  years  before  Christ,  India 
was  groaning  under  Brahminical  sacerdotalism,  priest- 
craft, polytheism,  idolatry,  and  caste.  Buddha  arose  as 
a  reformer.  With  the  modicum  of  truth  which  he  pre- 
sented to  them,  teaching  them  that  there  was  one  God, 
that  no  human  mediation  was  necessary  between  God 
and  man,  that  all  men  constituted  one  brotherhood,  he 
fired  his  disciples  v/ith  zeal,  and  they  went  forth  with 
him  to  conquer  India  to  their  new-found  faith.  Kings 
became  the  nursing  fathers  of  the  new  religion.  A  prince 
of  the  royal  house  of  Magadh^,  with  his  associates  in  the 
work,  went  down  through  India,  and  crossed  to  Ceylon, 
and  all  Ceylon  was  converted  to  Buddhism.  Other  dis- 
ciples went  around  the  northern  end  of  the  Bay  of  Ben- 
gal and  converted  all  Burmah  to  Buddhism.  They 
penetrated  the  jungles  and  climbed  the  mountains  lying 
between,  and  entered  Siam,  and  all  Siam  and  its  mon- 
arch embraced  the  faith  of  Buddha.  They  climbed  up 
the  ascents  of  the  Himalaya  Mountains^  went  through 
Nepal,  and  all  the  Nepalese  became  Buddhists.  They 
climbed  over  the  passes  of  the  Himalaya  Mountains  into 
Thibet,  and  Thibet  became  and  remains  Buddhist. 
They  passed  on  into  Siberia  ;  they  crossed  over  into 
China,  and  traversed  that  mighty  empire,  and  two  hun- 
dred millicns  of  its  people  embraced  their  faith.  Not 
satisfied  with  these  conquests,  they  took  the  shipping  of 
the  day  and  crossed  over  to  the  Island  Empire  of  Japan, 


1 82  A   COLLEGE   OF  COLLEGES. 

and  the  standard  of  Buddha  was  planted  there.  Let 
this  history  be  a  prophecy  and  an  inspiration  to  us. 
Give  us  these  men  that  we  have  asked  for,  that  we  may 
use  all  the  agencies  God  has  put  in  our  power.  Then 
may  we,  by  God's  blessing,  bring  India  to  Christ  within 
this  our  generation.  The  Hindu  converts,  touched  by 
the  Divine  fire,  inspired  by  the  love  of  Christ,  will  repeat 
the  history  of  the  past ;  but  with  new  zeal,  aided  by  a 
power  that  Buddha's  disciples  knew  not.  Again  will 
they  sweep  through  Nepal  and  Thibet.  Again  will  they 
traverse  Siberia  to  its  northern  limit,  and  sweep  over 
northern  China.  The  Mohammedan  population  of  India 
thus  converted,  will  in  their  new  zeal  sweep  northward 
and  westward  through  Arabia  and  the  Turkish  Empire, 
and  bring  their  co-religionists  to  Christ.  The  Japanese, 
now  so  rapidly  and  so  grandly  enlisting  under  the  ban- 
ner of  Christ,  having  then  through  their  vigorous  home 
missions  completed  the  conversion  of  the  islands  of 
Japan,  will  sweep  across  through  Corea  and  on  through 
Siberia,  to  meet  the  advancing  Hindu  army  of  Christ. 
And  the  Chinese  contingent,  starting  northward  from 
Canton  and  Swatow  and  Amoy  and  Foochow,  gathering 
force  from  the  other  coast  missions  and  the  Inland  Mis- 
sion, will  complete  the  conquest  of  China,  and  all  Asia 
will  have  been  brought  to  Christ.  Upon  the  high  moun- 
tains dividing  China  from  Siberia  will  those  three  armies 
meet,  and  together  plant  the  royal  standard  of  King 
Immanuel,  and  from  those  united  hosts  will  go  up  the 
shout:  "Hallelujah!  for  the  Lord  God  omnipotent 
reigneth.  Hallelujah  !  the  kingdoms  of  this  world  have 
become  the  kingdoms  of  our  Lord  and  of  His  Christ  ; 
and  He  shall  reign  forever  and  ever."  Brothers,  be  it 
ours,  each  one,  to  own  a  share  in  that  hallelujah  shout 
of  final  victory. 


CHAPTER   XV. 

BRIEF    MISSIONARY    ADDRESSES. 

Talks  by  Young  Men  About  to  Engage  in  Foreign  Work— Their  Sev- 
eral Experiences — Mental  Conflicts  Happily  Ended — The  Con- 
trolling Considerations— Appeals  to  Fellow-Students — Argument 
of  a  Cambridge  Man — One  Burden  Felt  by  Caucasian,  Mongolian, 
and  Indian. 

At  a  missionary  meeting  one  Sunday  afternoon,  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Ashmore,  of  Swatow,  China,  presided.  He  read 
the  great  commission  given  by  Christ  to  His  disciples  as 
found  in  Mark  and  in  Matthew,  and  led  in  prayer.  He 
said  :  First  of  all  we  want  to  hear  from  two  or  three 
brethren  who  are  going  out  as  missionaries.  Just  a  word 
whilst  the  brothers  are  coming  forward.  Brethren,  you 
remember  that  year  before  last  some  of  God's  people 
met  here  in  this  very  place  and  issued  a  prayer  circular. 
Doubtless  that  circular  was  thrown  away  by  many  peo- 
ple ;  but  God  has  praying  people.  That  prayer  circular 
reached  a  great  many  hearts — fathers  and  mothers  in 
Israel.  Well,  a  whole  year  has  passed  away.  At  Mount 
Hermon  came  the  answer  to  that  union  of  prayer.  You 
know,  those  of  3^ou  who  were  here  last  year,  how  some 
brothers  were  asked  to  go  out  among  the  colleges.  Two 
went.  They  came  back.  "  He  that  goeth  forth  and 
weepeth,  bearing  precious  seed,  should  doubtless  come 
again  with  rejoicing,  bringing  his  sheaves  with  him." 
You  know  how  the  Lord  blessed  them.  They  are  back 
here  with  more  than  two  thousand  sheaves.  Isn't  God's 
hand  in  this  ?     Well,  I   see  some  of  them  are  already 

(183) 


l84  A   COLLEGE    OF   COLLEGES. 

going  out.  Three  young  men  who  have  been  attending 
these  meetings  the  past  few  days  have  gone  already. 
We  have  two  here.  After  they  have  spoken  we  are 
going  to  ask  Mr.  Moody  to  pray  for  a  blessing  upon 
them.  We  want  to  send  them  forth  with  our  united 
prayers. 

Mr.  H,  F.  Laflamme,  of  Toronto  University,  Canada, 
who  was  to  sail  for  India  in  September,  said  :  Christian 
friends  and  fellows — I  should  just  like  to  say  a  word  or 
two  about  my  call  to  this  work.  We  are  thinking  about 
the  work  in  the  foreign  field,  and  as  to  v/hether  we  are 
called  there  or  not.  I  have  thanked  God  many  times 
for  the  visit  of  these  brethren  to  the  University  of 
Toronto.  Immediately  after  their  stirring  appeal,  they 
put  in  our  hands  a  little  paper  with  the  words,  "  We  are 
willing  and  desirous,  God  permitting  us,  to  be  foreign 
missionaries,"  written  at  the  top.  For  the  first  time  I 
was  brought  face  to  face  with  the  question.  It  came  to 
me  :  "Are  you  willing?"  "Yes,  I  am  willing."  I  had 
just  said  to  God  that  I  would  go  to  any  place  in  this 
wide  world.  Then  the  question  came:  "Are  you  de- 
sirous ? "  I  looked  at  that  awhile,  and  stuck  with  that. 
I  thought  of  Christ's  words  :  "  Go  ye  into  all  the  world 
and  preach  the  Gospel  to  every  creature."  I  purposed 
to  preach  the  Gospel  in  this  country.  But  I  thought  of 
one  minister  to  every  600  of  population  in  America,  and 
I  thought  of  one  man  to  every  500,000  in  the  foreign 
field — of  South  America,  with  one  man  to  600,000 — of 
the  Congo,  with  one  man  to  40,000,000  of  people.  "  Are 
you  desirous  to  go  out  and  preach  the  Gospel  to  the 
heathen?"  "Yes,  Lord  Jesus  ;  I  am  desirous  to  go  out 
there  and  be  a  foreign  missionary."  Just  then  our  board 
was  calling  for  men.  I  had  been  very  little  interested 
in  foreign  missions.  I  didn't  know  they  v/ere  calling 
for  men  to  go  out  there.     I  had  never  looked  at  the  ap- 


BRIEF  MISSIONARY  ADDRESSES.  1 85 

peal  through  our  denominational  paper.  But  a  young 
fellow  who  had  sent  in  his  name  as  a  volunteer  to 
go  out  there,  came  down  to  room  with  me.  Said  he  : 
"Why  don't  you  offer  yourself  to  the  board?  Here 
they  are  calling  for  men,  and  nobody  is  offering  to  go," 
"Why,"  said  I,  "they  wouldn't  take  me.  I  am  only  in 
the  third  year  of  my  college  course.  They  wouldn't 
take  me."  Said  my  friend  :  "That  doesn't  excuse  you 
from  offering."  I  told  the  Lord  about  it — said  that  I  was 
willing  to  go  right  out  if  the  way  was  open.  I  wrote  to 
the  board  ;  told  them  I  was  )^oung — that  I  hadn't  fin- 
ished my  college  course — but  if  they  wanted  to  take  me 
I  was  willing  to  start  next  week.  And  the  application 
was  considered.  Our  applications  were  considered,  and 
we  two  were  chosen  and  appointed  to  go.  Well  ;  some 
men  have  asked  me — many  here — why  I  didn't  stop  to 
finish  my  college  course.  It  is  because  there  were  no 
young  men  who  were  offering  to  our  board  who  had 
been  through  their  college  course,  and  I  thought  it  was 
a  burning  shame  that  such  a  call  should  come  from  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  there  was  no  one  willing  to  offer 
himself  to  do  that  work.  They  appointed  us  then  and 
there  ;  and  we  hope  to  set  sail  for  India — for  the  Telugu 
country — next  September.  I  know  I  am  not  fit  for  this 
work.  If  I  thought  that  after  I  was  through  my  college 
course  I  would  be  fit  for  the  work,  nothing  in  this  world 
would  take  me  out  to  India  now.  But  I  believe  God 
opened  such  a  door  in  the  manner  of  my  appointm.ent, 
and  the  action  of  my  friends  and  the  college  faculty — 
I  believe  God  has  opened  such  a  door  that  I  cannot,  I 
cannot  in  the  face  of  a  call  like  that,  turn  my  back  on 
it.  And,  fellows,  there  is  one  word  I  want  to  say  to  you. 
Just  offer  yourselves  for  this  work.  Just  give  God  a 
chance — give  Him  a  chance  to  use  you.  Ask  Him  to 
take  you  for  this  work  in  the  foreign  field,  and  if  He 


1 86  A   COLLEGE   OF  COLLEGES. 

doesn't  want  you  to  go  there,  He  will  block  up  youf 
way.  If  you  say  your  work  is  in  this  country,  and  wait 
for  a  call  out  there,  you  will  never  get  that  call.  And  I 
just  want  to  tell  you  one  thing  that  makes  me  more  in- 
terested and  more  desirous  to  go  every  day.  It  is  this  : 
I  got  that  little  chart  with  the  populations  of  the  world, 
and  I  put  it  on  my  bedroom  door,  right  at  the  foot  of 
my  bed.  Not  only  that :  I  have  a  map  of  the  Telugu 
countrj'  with  its  millions  of  souls  ;  and  I  have  a  map  of 
Africa,  and  a  map  of  China.  I  look  at  those  maps,  and 
the  wo  id's  populations,  and  the  commission  of  the  Lord 
Jesus  ;  and  the  burden  comes  so  on  my  soul  that  I  pray  : 
"Lord  let  me  go  and  help  those  people."  It  almost 
breaks  my  heart  to  think  that  there  are  so  many  millions 
waitinc.  to  hear  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  so  few 
who  ?t  e  willing  to  go — so  many  willing  to  stay  at  home. 
Look  at  the  need.  Why  ;  in  Brazil  there  are  scores  of 
field?  ,intouched,  and  South  America  would  take  all  the 
men  "hat  we  have  here.  Then  there  is  the  whole  of  the 
Con(^3  ;  and  there  is  the  whole  of  India.  Can't  we  as  a 
body  of  men  listen  to  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  and  answer 
th.ot  call  He  is  making  day  by  day,  and  just  go  right 
out  there  ?  I  believe  with  Hudson  Taylor  that  we  have 
br.en  spelling  that  commission  wrong.  We  have  been 
spelling  it  s-t-a-y,  stay  ;  instead  of  G-o,  go.  And  the 
'ivindows  of  heaven  have  stayed  shut,  and  the  blessing 
of  the  Lord  has  been  stayed.  What  a  blessed  thing  it 
this  whole  convention— Mr.  Moody  and  all — would  go 
right  out  into  the  foreign  field.  I  believe  we  could  not 
contain  the  blessing. 

Mr.  G.  L.  Robinson,  of  Princeton  College,  who  was 
to  sail  for  Syria  in  thirteen  days,  said  :  I  suppose  you 
think  that  the  men  who  are  leaving  home  and  going 
to  foreign  lands  are  the  saddest  men  here.  As  for  my- 
self, I  am  the  happiest  man  here  to-day.     I  am  to  start 


BRIEF   MISSIONARY   ADDRESSES.  1 87 

in  about  two  weeks  for  Syria.  I  want  to  speak  about 
decision.  At  least  fifty  men  ought  to  decide  here  to-day 
for  foreign  missions.  And  I  want  to  give  my  hindrances 
and  my  motives  in  going.  The  first  hindrance  that  kept 
me  from  deciding  this  great  question  a  year  ago  at 
Mount  Hermon  was  the  fact  of  self.  It  seemed  to  me  I 
wanted  to  stay  in  this  country  for  a  certain  purpose,  and 
that  purpose  was  to  become  great — to  get  a  parish  in 
this  country  of  considerable  size  and  to  compete  with 
other  people  in  preaching  the  Gospel.  But  I  thank  God 
I  have  come  to  the  conclusion  that  was  the  wrong  thing 
to  do.  When  we  start  with  such  motives  as  that,  we 
will  certainly  fail.  And  so  I  gave  myself  to  this  foreign 
work.  Another  hindrance  to  me  was  the  fact  of  lack  of 
consecration.  I  was  not  consecrated  as  I  ought  to  be  to 
God.  When  I  came  to  that  school  I  was  not  wholly 
consecrated.  But  I  must  say  that  when  I  gave  myself 
up  to  foreign  work,  and  consecrated  myself  to  God  and 
to  that  work,  immediately  there  came  peace.  And  T  can 
assure  every  one  here  to-day — all  who  will  give  them- 
selves up  to  this  work — that  they  will  enjoy  peace  that 
they  cannot  enjoy  in  any  other  way.  Be  sure  that  you 
are  consecrated  to  Christ,  and  don't  think  that  by  stay- 
ing in  this  country  you  are  safer.  Now,  the  reasons  for 
giving  myself  to  this  work  were  simply  these  :  When  I 
read  the  last  chapter  of  Matthew,  and  read  there  the 
words  of  Christ,  where  He  said,  "Go  ye,"  I  seemed  to 
think  that  command  was  directed  towards  me,  and  I 
couldn't  get  over  it.  I  didn't  have  to  read  the  chapter 
in  Mark,  "  Go  ye  into  all  the  w^orld,"  for  that  chapter  in 
Matthew  was  enough  to  persuade  me  that  that  meant 
me.  And  I  do  hope  that  any  young  man  here  to-day, 
when  he  hears  that  verse  read,  will  ask  himself  the  ques- 
tion whether  it  doesn't  mean  him,  before  he  decides  not 
to  go  into  this  work.     And  then  another  reason  was 


1 88  A  COLLEGE   OF  COLLEGES. 

because  of  the  results.  I  felt  that  I  could  do  more  good 
for  God  than  in  this  country.  We  know  perfectly  well 
that  the  statistics  show  that  the  results  abroad  are 
greater  than  in  this  country  ;  and  if  so,  I  thought  it  was 
my  duty  to  go  where  we  can  do  the  most  good.  And  it 
seems  to  me,  if  you  are  looking  at  it  in  the  right  way, 
you  will  say  so  yourself.  The  last  reason,  and  the  most 
important  one,  was  the  needs  of  the  work.  Here  were 
large  numbers  of  heathen  who  know  nothing  of  Christ 
and  who  have  no  one  to  carry  them  the  Gospel.  That 
fact  weighed  heavier  and  heavier  upon  my  soul ;  and  I 
trust  God  will  help  me  to  go  to  Syria,  to  preach  the 
name  of  Christ  and  draw  some  one  in  the  college  at 
Beirut  to  accept  the  Saviour.  I  ask  the  prayers  of  all, 
that  I  may  do  His  will. 

Mr.  Moody  led  in  an  earnest  prayer.  Then  the  next 
speaker,  Lee  Ping,  of  China,  was  introduced.  He  said  : 
Dear  brothers — I  want  to  speak  a  few  words  to  you.  We 
call  you  brothers,  although  you  are  Caucasian,  I  Mon- 
golian, because  Paul  says  there  is  no  difference.  We 
have  the  same  Father,  which  is  in  Heaven.  When  I 
came  to  this  country  I  never  thought  I  would  be  Chris- 
tian. That  was  four  years  ago.  I  knew  nothing  about 
Christ  and  the  Holy  Bible.  When  I  came  to  Chicago 
one  Sunday  I  went  into  church,  and  a  gentleman  asked 
me  if  I  want  to  be  Christian.  I  said,  "  Yes."  He  said, 
"When  you  come  next  Sunday  I  baptize  you."  Weil,  I 
answered  him.  I  know  not  how  to  speak  English  lan- 
guage. I  called  unto  Jesus'  name,  only.  Next  Sunday 
I  go  to  church.  I  know  not  how  to  answer  his  question. 
I  cannot  speak  at  all.  Then  he  said,  "  God  will  help 
you,  and  you  be  Christian  and  God  will  help  5'ou  speak 
English."  It  was  last  year  he  sent  me  to  Mount  Her- 
mon,  studying  for  the  Bible.  I  intend  to  go  back  to  my 
native  land.     I  hope  all  these  peoole  think  hov^^  man/ 


BRIEF   MISSIONARY   ADDRESSES.  1 89 

people  in  China — all  northern  China — for  in  it  two 
hundred  millions  never  heard  about  Christ,  waiting 
for  the  missionary.  I  hope  all  these  brethren  will  go 
to  China  and  preach  the  Gospel,  and  heal  the  s!ck, 
as  Christ  did;  and  God  will  help  you  every  one.  I  re- 
ceived letter  from  Chicago  from  friend  of  mine  attend- 
ed the  Chinese  Mission  in  Chicago,  and  when  Mr. 
Moody  was  preaching  at  Chicago  she  said  six  Chinese 
become  Christian.  And  another  letter  she  said  many 
Chinese  went  to  Mr.  Moody's  meetings,  and  how 
much  good  was  done  to  them.  I  hope  all  these  young 
men  will  go  all  to  work  and  preach  the  Gospel  among 
heathen  waiting  for  the  missionary.  I  hope  all  these 
brethren  pray  for  me,  when  I  get  through  my  school 
work  and  go  back  to  my  own  country.  That  is  my 
desire. 

Mr.  F.  L.  Moore,  an  Alaska  Indian,  said  :  Dear  broth- 
ers and  friends — I  am  glad  to  see  you  all.  Why  do  I 
call  you  dear  brothers  ?  Because  God  created  all,  and 
so  we  are  all  brothers  and  sisters.  Our  Father  is  in 
Heaven,  and  He  is  Father  of  the  Indians.  Suppose  I 
was  not  Christian,  then  I  shall  not  call  you  dear  broth- 
ers. But  now  I  find  out  in  my  Saviour  Jesus,  who  died 
for  us  and  made  offering  for  us,  and  now  in  two  or  three 
years  ago  I  came  out  on  the  Lord's  side.  Last  summer 
I  was  travelling  in  Mount  St.  Elias  with  Lieutenant 
Schwatka.  The  United  States  sent  that  man  to  find  out 
how  many  feet  high  that  was.  He  asked  me  if  I  be  in- 
terpreter to  him  for  the  Indians,  and  I  say  yes.  I  go 
with  him,  and  spent  with  him  two  or  three  months,  and 
it  was  near  to  where  the  Esquimaux,  those  people.  I 
find  out  those  people  knew  nothing  about  the  Gospel 
yet — never  heard  about  Gospel.  And  one  day  I  was 
walking  up  to  preach,  and  I  asked  some  one  there — 
some  of  the  Indians — if   they  had  heard  about  Jesus 


igO  A   COLLEGE   OF   COLLEGES. 

Christ,  and  they  said  no  ;  never  heard  it ;  knew  nothing 
about  Him.  And  I  asked  them,  "  What  do  you  believe 
in  now  ?  Who  created  every  things  ?  Look  at  the  mount- 
ains— everything  beautiful.  Who  created  everythings  ? " 
And  tliey  say,  "  It  is  God."  And  I  say,  "  Well,  that  is 
strange  to  me.  How  can  you  prove  God  created  every- 
thing— mountains,  fish,  deer,  bear?"  And  I  just  looked 
in  Genesis,  first  chapter,  and  I  asked  those  people  : 
"  Now,  listen  to  me.  *  In  the  beginning  God  created 
the  heaven  and  the  earth.'  Now  I  explain  to  you." 
And  I  preach  the  Gospel ;  and  they  wouldn't  answer. 
They  don't  believe  what  I  say.  Every  day  I  go  out  to 
preach,  and  I  tell  about  Christ,  how  that  He  made  an 
offering  for  us.  And  finally,  two  or  three  weeks  after, 
they  come  to  me.  They  believe  what  I  say,  and  they 
want  me  to  stay  with  them,  and  preach  there  and  tell 
about  Christ.  And  I  not  know  much  about  the  Bible  ; 
and  I  wish  I  knew  about  it  more.  And  so  finally  I  come 
back  to  my  home,  and  I  tell  two  of  my  teachers  I  wish  I 
knew  more  about  God,  Saviour,  Christ,  just  like  Chris- 
tian people.  They  send  me  here  ;  so  I  thank  God  I  can 
learn  more  about  Him.  I  tell  my  teachers  I  wish  to 
know  more  about  my  Saviour,  so  I  can  go  out  to  those 
people  who  know  nothing  about  Gospel  ;  and  so  my 
teachers  write  to  Christian  people  in  Washington.  They 
send  me  to  Washington,  send  me  to  Mount  Hermon,  to 
learn  more  about  my  Saviour.  And,  dear  friends,  there 
is  a  great  many  people  who  know  nothing  about  Christ 
yet.  I  hope  if  God  spares  my  life  to  go  out  among  my 
tribe  and  tell  about  Christ;  and  I  want,  God  bless  m-^, 
to  work  for  Him  and  do  His  will.  And,  young  mens, 
pray  for  me  that  God  bless  me.  And  I  thank  God  who 
sent  me  here  to  learn  more  about  Him.  And  I  thank 
God  I  had  a  letter  from  my  home.  A  great  many  of  my 
tribe  to-day  come  out  on  the  Lord's  side,  and  how  glad 


BRIEF  MISSIONARY  ADDRESSES.  I9I 

I  am  to  hear  of  that !  Two  years  ago  I  kne'w  nothing 
about  Christ ;  but  now  I  know  His  words.  When  I 
have  trouble  in  my  soul  He  helps  me.  He  helps  me  to 
stand  up  for  Him.  Christ  is  offering  for  me — for  every 
one.  And,  young  mens,  trust  Him  is  the  only  way,  and 
believe  His  word.  "  Believe  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
and  thou  shalt  be  saved."  Yes  ;  He  gave  His  only  Son 
to  die  for  us.  Yes  ;  what  He  gave  us  is  Himself.  JIq 
gave  Himself  to  die  for  us. 

Mr.  R.  A.  Scott  Macfie,  of  Cambridge  University,  Eng- 
land, said  :  My  brothers— I  think  every  one  here  is  a 
Christian,  and  we  are  all  one  in  Christ.  And  if  we  are 
one  in  Him,  we  must  be  one  in  Him  in  our  objects  and 
aims,  as  well  as  everything  else.  And  I  think  we  might 
look  and  see  what  the  aim  and  object  of  Christ  was  on 
this  earth.  I  think  we  find  it  in  the  words  :  "  He  came 
to  seek  and  to  save  that  which  was  lost."  And  this 
must  be  ours  as  well.  He  commands  us  directly  to  go 
into  all  the  world  and  preach  the  Gospel.  Now,  the  lost 
heathen  in  foreign  lands  cannot  be  saved  without  the 
knowledge  of  Christ.  They  cannot.  St.  Paul  says  in 
Romans  x,  13  :  "Whosoever  shall  call  upon  the  name  of 
the  Lord  shall  be  saved."  And  he  continues  :  ''  How, 
then,  shall  they  call  on  Him  in  whom  they  have  not  be- 
lieved ?  and  how  shall  they  believe  in  Him  of  whom 
they  have  not  heard  ?  and  how  shall  they  hear  without 
a  preacher  ? "  Well ;  we  are  all  here  Christians  ;  and 
\YQ.  all  believe  in  the  Bible  ;  and  we  have  all  heard 
Christ's  command  to  go  into  all  the  world  ;  and  v/e  are 
all  going  to  work  for  Christ  somewhere,  because  Vv^e  are 
commanded  by  Christ,  and  none  of  us  is  going  to  dis- 
obey Christ.  We  have  a  choice  between  staying  in 
Christendom  and  working  there,  and  going  over  to  the 
heathen  and  working  among  them.  Now,  you  have  had 
statistics  put  into  your  hands  about  the  heathen.     You 


192  A  COLLEGE  OF  COLLEGES. 

know  there  are  368,000,000,*  I  think  it  is,  of  heathen  in 
the  world  who  are  without  the  Gospel ;  and  there  are 
116,000,000  Protestants.  Take  these  statistics  and  woik 
it  out  this  way.  Suppose  there  are  four  hundred  men 
here.  You  will  find  that  three  hundred  at  least  of  you 
ought  to  go  out  to  the  heathen.  And  that  doesn't  take 
in  the  great  number  of  ministers  already  working  in  the 
Protestant  world.  Three  hundred  and  fifty  of  you,  at 
the  very  least,  ought  to  go  out  among  the  heathen.  I 
was  only  converted  lately  ;  and  soon  after  my  conver- 
sion we  had  a  missionary  conference  at  Cambridge,  in 
which  there  was  brought  out  the  tremendous  want  of 
missionaries  in  the  foreign  field.  Some  said  there  were 
places  in  which  there  was  but  one  missionary  to  millions 
of  people.  What  can  one  missionary  do  among  millions 
of  people  ?  Life  is  very  short,  and  the  opportunities  of 
one  man  are  very  few  to  spread  over  very  much  of  the 
ground.  We  may  go  out  and  help  the  missionaries  in 
India,  and  Africa,  and  China.  It  is  a  distinct  duty  to 
go  out.  Please  apply  this  every  one  to  yourself.  Ask 
yourself:  "Am  I  to  stay  at  home?  Or  am  I  to  go 
abroad  ?  "     The  most  of  us  ought  to  go  abroad. 

Mr.  S.  C.  Mitchell,  of  Galveston,  Texas,  a  student  at 
Georgetown  College,  Kentucky,  said  :  Fellows — I  have 
no  argument  to  present.  I  have  simply  to  present  to 
you  my  own  determination  to  devote  myself  to  this 
work.  When  I  came  up  here  I  had  no  idea  of  becoming 
a  missionary.  It  had  always  seemed  to  me  that  that 
kind  of  work  was  for  some  other  man.  But  these  facts 
were  presented  to  me — these  great  facts.  I  calmly  con- 
sidered these  things.  I  had  consecrated  my  life  to 
Christ.     I  had  said  it  should  certainly  be  spent  where  it 


*  The  chart  referred  to  states  the  number  of  heathen  to  be  856,000,. 
000.     Mr.  Macfie's  argument  is  proportionally  strengthened. — Ed. 


BRIEF   MISSIONARY   ADDRESSES.  I93 

was  most  needed.  Where  is  that  ?  On  the  frontiers  of 
civilization.  Tliere  is  no  argument  required.  If  we  rise 
up  to  the  dignity  of  our  being — if  we  rise  to  see  the 
great  privilege  we  possess  to  labor  for  Him  where  the 
name  of  Christ  has  never  been  spoken,  and  where  vrc 
can  bring  thousands  to  Christ,  while  here  we  would 
labor  year  after  year  for  a  few  hundred — there  is  no  ar- 
gument needed.  We  only  want  a  little  heroism,  a  little 
determination,  a  little  consecration,  and  we  will  go  to 
the  ends  of  the  earth.  It  is  a  privilege,  not  a  duty,  to 
labor  for  Christ  wherever  He  places  us.  There  are  two 
alternatives,  one  on  each  side.  Shall  we  labor  where 
we  prefer  to  go  ? — or  shall  we  lay  ourselves  upon  the 
altar  and  ask  to  be  sent  anywhere  ?  Which  shall  v/e  do  ? 
Every  man  here  before  me  is  a  Christian.  He  sa3^s  he  is 
willing  to  work  for  Christ  wherever  He  sends  him.  Ah, 
my  friend  ;  can  you  hear  a  voice  that  calls  more  loudly 
than  the  voice  that  calls  you  to  the  work  of  foreign  mis- 
sions ?  It  seems  to  me  if  we  would  only  turn  ourselves 
loose  upon  the  world,  we  could  just  turn  it  upside  down 
for  Christ.  I  have  a  purpose  in  life  nov/.  I  came  up 
here  without  one.  I  have  a  purpose  that  bears  me  on- 
ward to  something  higher  than  anything  I  had  in  mind. 
And  would  to  God  it  were  impressed  upon  every  man 
before  me. 

Mr.  Geo.  D.  Rogers,  a  student  at  Denison  University, 
Ohio,  said  :  My  father  was  a  ship-carpenter,  and  I  have 
often  gone  down  to  the  docks  and  watched  the  ships  as 
they  were  put  together — piece  by  piece,  timber  by  tim- 
ber. When  the  day  would  comiC  for  launching,  every- 
body would  gather  to  see  the  great  vessel  sent  into 
the  sea.  Young  men,  our  lives  are  like  that  ship.  Each 
day  and  hour  adds  something  to  the  structure.  But 
there  is  one  thing  in  regard  to  it.  Before  the  ship  is 
even  launched — before  her  decks  are  painted — she  is 
9 


194  A  COLLEGE   OF  COLLEGES. 

chartered  for  the  voyage.  To  many  of  us  college  stu- 
dents Commencement  day  is  our  launching  day.  Are 
we  chartered  for  the  voyage  before  we  are  launched  ? 
That  is  the  question  that  comes  to  each  one  of  us.  If 
that  vessel  should  wait  until  everything  was  ready,  she 
would  lose  half  the  season's  work.  So  if  we  wait  until 
we  are  launched  we  v/ill  lose  a  part  of  the  season's  work 
The  subject  before  us  was  presented  before  our  asso- 
ciation very  plainly  and  earnestly,  and  the  result  was 
the  addition  of  some  dozen  names  to  the  list.  My  name 
was  not  on  that  list  at  that  time.  Just  why  I  could 
hardly  explain.  You  know,  fellows,  a  mother  holds  a 
very  tender  place  in  your  heart.  It  was  on  account  of 
considerations  for  her  sake  that  my  name  did  not  go 
down  on  the  list  at  that  time.  But  since  I  have  been 
here,  and  heard  so  much  about  this  work — how  it  is 
growing — how  its  demands  are  so  great — how  it  is  call- 
ing for  every  soldier  of  Christ  to  stand  up  and  go  forth 
unto  the  battle — the  appeal  has  been  too  strong  for  me 
to  resist ;  and  night  before  last  I  put  my  name  down  on 
the  list.  I  desire  to  be  one  among  those  who  will  go  to 
heathen  lands  and  preach  the  Gospel.  The  demands 
are  great  at  home  ;  the  demands  are  greater  abroad. 
My  prayer  has  been  for  a  thorough  consecration  to  God 
— to  lose  sight  entirely  of  myself.  This  is  my  greatest 
desire,  and  it  has  been  ;  and  I  feel,  as  I  have  given  my- 
self into  the  hands  of  the  Lord  in  this  way,  that  now  I 
am  truly  going  to  do  His  bidding — that  where  He  leads, 
there  I  may  follow. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 


CHOOSING    A    LIFE-WORK. 


Addresses  by  Messrs.  Forman  and  Wilder  on  Various  Occasions — 
A  Wonderful  Dream — Immediate  Duty  of  Young  Men — No  "  Spe- 
cial Call  "  Necessary — An  Imperative  Obligation — The  Crying 
Need  Abroad. 

Mr.  Forman  said  :  Some  twenty  years  ago  a  young 
Kentuckian  stood  on  the  edge  of  his  life-work.  He  had 
determined  on  the  ministry,  but  was  it  to  be  at  home  or 
abroad  ?  He  dreamed  that  he  was  riding  through  a 
rough  country.  His  horse  shed  a  shoe,  and  he  stopped 
at  the  blacksmith's  for  repairs.  As  he  waited,  a  tall, 
slender  lad  stepped  up  to  his  side  and  said  :  "  Sir,  will 
you  visit  our  wonderful  glen  with  me  ?"  Together  the 
two  climbed  over  rocks  and  through  thicket  and  brush- 
wood until  they  stood  in  a  long  ravine.  Along  they 
went,  then  up  and  up  till  they  thought  the  air  changed 
and  they  stood  amid  new  scenes.  There  had  been  a 
mountain  river  with  rapids  and  falls,  but  now  the  broken 
crests  of  the  water  stood  still.  On  the  edge  of  the  river 
stood  a  squad  of  footmen  and  horsemen — only  a  score 
or  so.  They  wore  no  uniform,  their  clothes  were  tat- 
tered, their  horses  plebeian,  their  arms — rusty  rifles  and 
battered  swords.  But  look  at  their  faces — each  face  had 
the  peculiar  glow  and  flush  of  victory.  "  Has  there  been 
a  battle  here  ?"  said  the  young  preacher  to  his  guide. 
•*  Long  ago,"  came  the  reply,  "  the  king  was  in  the  midst 
o{  enemies  who  packed  about  him  on  every  side,  and  his 
life  and  realm  were  in  danger.     That  little  band,  with 

(195) 


196  A  COLLEGE  OF   COLLEGES. 

poor  equipment  and  insignificant  force,  dashed  to  his 
aid  ;  they  plunged  through  the  river,  assaulted  the 
armed  hosts,  and  won  the  day.  The  king  then  decreed 
that  they  should  never  die,  but  stand  here  and  feel  and 
look  as  they  felt  and  looked  in  that  first  glorious  moment 
of  victory." 

As  the  young  preacher  gazed  in  admiration,  there  v^as 
lifted  a  dark,  impenetrable  pall,  which  had  hung  from 
heaven  to  earth  ;  and  a  new  scene  was  opened.  What  a 
sight  !  Here  stood  a  splendid  army — rank  on  rank  of 
solid  infantry  ;  banks  of  massive  artillery  ;  with  quick, 
elastic,  resistless  cavalry.  One  look  at  the  array  made 
the  young  man's  heart  beat.  "  And  what  means  this  ?" 
he  cried.  "  This  army,"  said  his  guide,  *'  arrived  at  the 
river's  bank  two  full  days  before  the  little  band  you  saw. 
They  halted.  You  see  their  leader."  Seated  at  a  table 
in  front  of  the  ranks  sat  a  man  with  a  broad,  clear  fore- 
head and  calm,  intellectual  features.  "  Do  you  catch  on 
his  face  that  look  of  doubt  ? "  The  young  man  looked 
and  lo !  not  on  the  face  of  the  leader  alone,  but  on  the 
facts  of  the  officers  and  on  the  faces  of  the  host  was  a 
stamp  of  dozidL  They  sav/  the  need,  they  were  qualified 
for  the  fight,  they  stood  on  the  verge  of  victory.  But 
they  halted,  they  hesitated,  they  feared,  they  delayed, 
they  doubted,  they  failed. 

The  young  Kentuckian  woke.  It  was  a  dream.  But 
had  he  known  nothing  like  it  ?  Had  he  not  seen  the 
great  Church  holding  back  when  the  Kingdom  was  at 
stake  ?  Was  it  to  be  said  of  our  Christian  land  as  it  was 
said  of  Meroz  ?     (Judges  v.  23)  : 

*'  Curse  ye  bitterly  the  inhabitants  thereof  ; 
Because  they  came  not  to  the  help  of  Jehovah, 
To  the  help  of  Jehovah  against  the  mighty." 

It  was  only  a  dream,  but  it  led  that  5^oung  soldier  to 


CHOOSING  A   LIFE-WORK.  I97 

plunge  into  the  thick  of  the  fight.  I  heard  him  speak  as 
a  returned  missionary  from  Africa. 

Fellow-students,  the  cry  is  going  out  for  volunteers 
for  foreign  missions.  How  many  of  us  will  enlist  ?  The 
odds  are  tremendous,  but  the  victory  is  glorious,  and 
Jesus  is  our  King  ! 

Mr.  Wilder  said  :  Read  Numbers  xiii.  17-30.  We  are 
spies.  We  are  here  as  the  representatives  of  the 
churches  to  spy  out  the  world-field.  Through  the  Bible 
and  these  our  teachers,  we  have  exceptional  advantages 
for  spying  out  the  land.  The  churches  are  looking  at 
us  and  waiting  for  our  answer.  History  shows  us  our 
responsibility.  The  churches  have  always  waited  for 
young  men  to  take  the  lead.  The  great  foreign  mis- 
sionary movement  in  England  was  started  by  a  young 
man — Vv^illiam  Carey.  Foreign  missions  in  the  United 
States  originated  not  among  theological  professors  nor 
eminent  divines.  College  boys  at  Williamstow^n  started 
the  work.  The  churches  have  waited  for  young  men  to 
lead.     The  churches  are  v>/'aiting  for  us  now. 

1.  We  all  agree  with  verse  27  :  "Surely  it  (the  land) 
floweth  with  milk  and  honey."  We  have  seen  the  fruit 
of  it.  We  know  that  during  the  past  year  the  average 
foreign  missionary  has  had  twice  as  m.any  converts  as 
the  average  minister  in  the  United  States  ;  though  the 
ministry  in  our  country  have  Sabbath-school  teachers, 
elders,  deacons,  Y.  M.  C.  A.  workers,  etc.,  to  help  them 
— while  the  foreign  missionary  is  often  single-handed 
v/ith  nobody  to  aid  him. 

2.  We  acknowledge  the  command  to  possess  it. 

3.  We  admit  that  some  day  it  will  be  conquered. 
W^hynotNOW?  Turn  to  Hebrews  iii.  19:  "So  we  see 
they  could  not  enter  in  because  of  tmbelief''  Unbelief 
"excluded  that  whole  generation,  consisting  of  many 
hundred  thousand  souls,  from  the  land  of  promise."    Our 


i;8  A  COLLEGE   OF  COLLEGES. 

unbelief  and  selfishness  may  delay  the  evangelization  of 
the  world.  If  we  young  men  give  a  discoura;2:ing  report 
all  the  congregation  of  the  people  will  be  discouraged 
(Numbers  xiv.  i).  Oh,  for  four  hundred  Calebs  in  this 
convention — men  who  will  say  :  "  Let  us  go  up  at  oinXe 
(in  our  generation)  and  possess  it,  for  we  are  well  able 
to  overcome  it."  Is  this  imxagination  ?  Is  it  mere  enthu- 
siasm ?  Face  facts.  Weigh  evidence.  The  Earl  of 
Shaftesbury  says:  "During  the  latter  part  of  these 
(eighteen)  centuries,  it  has  been  in  the  power  of  those 
who  hold  the  truth,  having  means  enough,  having 
knowledge  enough,  and  having  opportunity  enough,  to 
evangelize  the  globe  fifty  ti?nes  over."  Listen  to  the 
dying  words  of  the  veteran  missionary,  Simeon  H.  Cal- 
houn :  "  It  is  my  deep  conviction,  and  I  say  it  again  and 
again,  that  if  the  Church  of  Christ  were  what  she  ought 
to  be,  twenty  years  would  not  pass  away  till  the  story 
of  the  Cross  would  be  uttered  in  the  ears  of  every  living 
m.an."  But  mark  more  recent  testimony.  It  i:;  given  by 
one  hundred  and  twenty  missionaries  in  China,  repre- 
sentatives of  twenty-one  Protestant  societies.  They  say: 
"We  want  China  emancipated  from  the  thraldrom  of 
sin  171  this  generation.  It  is  possible.  Our  Lord  has  said, 
*  Accordmg  to  your  faith  be  it  unto  you.'  The  Church 
of  God  can  do  it^  if  she  be  only  faithful  to  her  great  com- 
mission." This  statement  comes  from  missionaries  who 
are  acquainted  with  the  discouragements — who  knov/  the 
difficulties. 

"  Up  and  at  them."  Let  us  conquer  the  world  at  once. 
Let  us  be  like  the  drummer-boy  in  Napoleon's  army. 
At  a  critical  time  in  the  battle  the  commander  said  : 
"  Boy,  beat  a  retreat."  The  little  fellow  did  not  stir. 
"  Boy,  beat  a  retreat."  The  boy  said  :  "  Sire,  I  know 
not  how.  Desaix  never  taught  me  that.  But  I  can  beat 
a  charge.     I  can  beat  a  charge  that  will  make  the  dead 


CHOOSING  A   LIFE-WORK.  I99 

fall  into  line.  I  beat  that  charge  at  Lodi ;  I  beat  it  at 
the  Pyramids  ;  I  beat  it  at  Mount  Tabor.  May  I  beat  it 
here  ?"  And  over  the  dead  and  wounded,  over  the  can- 
non and  battery- men,  over  the  breastv/ork  and  ditches, 
he  led  the  way  to  victory. 

Fellows,  when  asked  to  beat  a  retreat,  let  us  say,  "  We 
knov/  not  how.  But,  in  the  strength  of  the  Lord  and  in 
the  power  of  His  might,  we  can  beat  a  charge  that  will 
make  the  dead  churches  fall  into  line."  And  over  India, 
over  Africa,  over  China,  and  the  islands  of  the  sea,  we 
will  lead  the  way  to  victory  and  evangelize  the  world. 
"  Let  us  go  up  at  07ice  and  possess  it ;  for  we  are  well 
able  to  overcome  it." 

Mr.  Form  AN  said  :  I  have  seen  a  notice  of  a  young 
missionary  who  recently  travelled  for  one  whole  month 
across  a  well-settled  section  of  China,  and  did  not  pass 
near  a  missionary  station — not  one.  Christendom  sends 
as  missionaries  to  China  less  than  four  hundred  men — 
not  one  to  a  million  of  the  Chinese.  During  the  past 
year  our  God  has  been  reviving  wonderfully  the  mis- 
sionary spirit  in  th^s  country,  but  during  these  twelve 
months  there  have  died  in  our  foreign  mission  fields 
forty  million  souls  !  One  says  :  "  Every  tick  of  your 
v/atch  sounds  the  death-knell  of  a  heathen  soul  ;  every 
time  I  draw  my  breath  four  of  these  souls  pass  out  into 
the  night,"  Is  this  a  time  for  us,  young  men,  to  hold 
back .? 

But  some  one  answers,  he  thinks  a  man  should  not  go 
without  having  a  "  special  call "  from  God.  May  God 
forbid  that  I  should  say  one  v\rord  undervaluing  the 
guidance  of  the  blessed  Spirit.  "  If  we  live  by  the 
Spirit,  by  the  Spirit  let  us  also  walk."  But  may  not  the 
Spirit  guide  us  through  the  use  of  our  ordmary  facul- 
ties ?  One  evening  last  winter  a  3'oung  man  arrived  in 
New  York  on  the  Lord's  business.     It  was  very  import- 


200  A  COLLEGE   OF   COLLEGES. 

ant  that  he  find  a  certain  house  that  night.  He  knew 
the  street,  but  not  the  number  of  the  house,  and  the  rest 
of  his  information  was  vague.  He  first  prayed  for  guid- 
ance ;  next  made  use  of  all  the  data,  and  reached  the 
best  conclusion  in  his  power  ;  then  struck  out  on  a  brisk 
walk.  Shortly  he  was  ringing  the  door-bell  of  the  de- 
sired house.  This  will  answer  for  a  parable.  First,  pray 
God  for  guidance.  The  man  who  neglects  this,  sins. 
But  no  less  is  it  important  to  use  all  the  facts  within  our 
reach,  and  our  faculties  of  judgment  and  decision,  and 
then  our  full  power  of  locomotion. 

My  Bible  does  not  tell  me  that  it  requires  any  more 
of  a  "  special  call  "  to  lead  me  to  cross  the  Rio  Grande 
than  to  cross  the  Mississippi.  If  I  decide  by  the  prayer- 
ful use  of  my  faculties  on  facts  in  deciding  on  work  in 
Boston  or  New  York,  am  I  to  wait  for  any  quantities  or 
qualities  of  feeling  before  deciding  on  Canton  or  Cal- 
cutta ?  What  a  parody  on  the  sacred  doctrine  of  the 
Holy  Spirit's  guidance  ! 

There  came  to  David  to  the  hold  in  the  wilderness 
certain  Gadites  "  whose  faces  were  like  the  faces  of 
lions,  and  they  were  as  swift  as  the  roes  upon  the 
mountains,"  Boldness  and  Swiftness.  These  are  what 
we  need  in  God's  service.  Is  the  post  one  of  difficulty 
or  even  of  danger  ?  So  much  the  better  does  it  satisfy 
the  man  of  such  a  spirit.  Does  the  captain  give  the 
order?  He  bounds  away  to  fulfil  it  with  the  swiftness 
of  the  roe  upon  the  mountain.  "  Have  not  I  commanded 
thee?"  says  Jesus  Christ  to-night. 

Mr.  AViLDER  said  :  What  is  a  call  to  the  foreign  mis- 
sion field  ?  It  may  come  through  a  human  instrument. 
Samuel  was  called  thrice.  But  he  knew  not  that  the 
Lord  called  him  until  a  human  agent,  Eli,  told  him 
(I.  Sam.  iii.  8,  9).  What  was  Nehemiah's  call?  It  came 
through  Hanani  and  his  companions.     Through  them  he 


CHOOSING  A   LIFE-WORK.  20I 

learned  of  the  needs  of  Jerusalem  and  the  afflictions  of 
his  people.  The  need  was  the  call.  *'  When  I  heard 
these  words,"  he  says  (Neh.  i.  4).  When  he  heard  of 
the  needj  he  wept,  fasted,  prayed,  claimed  the  promises 
of  God,  made  his  request  of  the  king  and  started  on  his 
journey.  What  was  Esther's  call  ?  It  was  the  need  as 
presented  by  a  htanari  instrument — Mordecai  (Esther  iv 

7-9)- 

Study  the  lives  of  missionaries.  One  after  anothei 
have  been  led  to  the  work  by  reading  of  the  need.  What 
call  did  Maria  Mathsdotter  receive  as  she  followed  the 
reindeer  over  the  silent  hills  around  her  father's  house  ? 
The  needs  of  her  people  called  her.  She  wept  and  prayed 
for  the  ignorant  Lapps,  until  their  condition  forced  her 
to  decide.  Their  need  was  the  voice  of  God  calling  her. 
It  took  her  three  years  to  learn  the  Sv/edish  language. 
Then,  clad  in  otter  and  reindeer  skins,  with  the  Lapland 
skidders  on  her  feet,  she  walked  in  winter  six  hundred 
miles  to  Stockholm.  It  was  a  long  journey  over  the 
dreary  mountains  and  dismal  forests.  But  success 
crowned  her  efforts.  The  Lord  was  with  her.  The 
king  of  Sweden  granted  her  request.  Her  people  Vv'ere 
provided  with  schools  and  churches. 

In  this  as  in  other  cases  God  spoke  through  the  7ieed. 
Do  not  wait  for  a  special  call  to  the  foreign  field.  Do 
not  wait  for  an  avalanche  to  strike  you,  or  for  a  si^eet 
from  Heaven  to  be  let  down.  When  Jehovah  addressed 
Elijah,  was  it  through  the  strong  wind  2  Was  the  Lord 
in  the  earthquake  or  in  the  fire  ?  Listen  to  the  **  still, 
small  voice."  It  floats  across  the  ocean.  The  mlUlcns 
of  India,  China,  Japan,  Africa  are  crying,  "  Come  over 
and  help  us."  Who  are  under  more  obligation  to  p"o 
than  we?  An  English  lady  who  often  gave  gifts  to  our 
mission  in  India  was  one  day  thanked  by  my  mother  for 
some  act  of  kindness.     With  an  earnest  look  she  said  : 


202  A   COLLEGE   OF   COLLEGES. 

"You  are  under  no  more  obligation  to  go  d:)wn  and 
teach  the  women  in  those  huts  than  I  am."  Was  she 
right  ?  Are  any  men  under  more  obligation  to  go  to 
the  heathen  than  we  2 

In  the  greater  need  abroad  we  hear  the  call  of  God. 
In  the  greater  success  abroad  we  hear  the  call  of  God. 
**  Bind  up  the  broken-hearted,  proclaim  liberty  to  the 
captives,  and  the  opening  of  the  prison  to  them  that  are 
bound  *'  (Isa  Ixi.  i).  "  Go  ye  into  all  the  world,  and 
preach  the  Gospel  to  every  creature"  (Mark  xvi.  15). 

How  many  in  this  audience  volunteer  to  go  if  God 
permits  ?  ^ 


*  Mr.  Wilder  writes  me,  regardins?  the  blank  slips  circulated  for 
signatures  :  "At  the  close  of  the  convention  eighty-seven  names  had 
been  received,  and  six  papers  had  not  been  returned.  Undoubtedly 
there  were  at  least  one  hundred  volunteers  for  the  foreign  mission 
field  at  the  convention.  It  is  not  known  how  many  of  these  were 
new — *.  e.^  how  many  decided  during  the  conference." — Ed. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

PREPARATION    FOR    EVANGELISM    ABROAD. 

Mr.  Joseph  Cook,  of  Boston,  Plied  with  Questions — Peculiar  Needs 
of  India — Value  of  a  Thorough  Training  to  Meet  her  Intellectual 
Cavils — Places  for  Diverse  Types  of  Men — An  Immense  Oppor- 
tunity before  Mr.  Moody — Requirements  of  the  Orient  and  of  the 
Occident — Remarks  by  Dr.  Chamberlain — The  Chairman's  Clos- 
ing Exhortation — A  Dramatic  Denouement. 

One  day  Mr.  Moody  asked  Mr.  Joseph  Cook,  of  Bos- 
ton, to  answer  questions. 

Mr.  Mood}^ — You  have  been  out  to  India.  What  is 
the  best  way  to  reach  India  ?  What  kind  of  preaching 
will  reach  the  higher  classes— the  Brahmins  ? 

Mr.  Cook — India  seems  to  me  a  vast  building,  several 
stories  high.  What  will  reach  one  story  will  not  reach 
the  upper,  or  the  tenth  story.  You  have  against  you 
caste,  the  doctrine  of  the  transmigration  of  souls,  the 
money  in  the  temples,  and  the  pagan  faiths.  You  heard 
a  good  deal  last  night  [referring  to  Dr.  Chamberlain's 
address]  about  caste  and  the  endowed  temples.  I  think 
also  the  doctrine  of  the  transmigration  of  souls  takes 
hold  of  the  populace  with  great  force  from  Ceylon  to 
Cashmere.  Whoever  could  break  those  two  wheels — 
the  doctrine  of  caste  and  the  doctrine  of  the  transmi- 
gration of  souls — would  do  very  much  toward  crippling 
paganism  in  India  ;  and  whoever  could  in  some  way  de- 
stroy the  power  of  the  nation's  temples  w^ould  break  the 
axle  between  the  wheels.     You  must  crush  all  three. 

Mr.  Moody — Is  it  best  for  a  young  man  going  to  India 

(203) 


204  A  COLLEGE   OF  COLLEGES. 

— going  to  give  his  life  to   the  work — to  go  through  a 
theological  training  ? 

Mr.  Cook — Yes  and  no  ;  and  I  don't  stand  on  the  fenc^e. 
If  a  young  man  intends  to  preach  to  the  educated  classes 
of  India,  he  cannot  be  too  well  trained  in  our  theological 
halls.  He  ought  to  have  a  strong  grasp  on  philosophy. 
The  Brahmins  import  false  faiths.  Traditional  faiths 
sit  very  lightly  on  the  educated  classes,  but  customs  sit 
heavily.  Caste  is  observed  sacredly  by  the  Brahmin. 
He  is  proud  of  his  social  position.  A  great  many  Brah- 
min minds  are  dropping  into  agnosticism.  They  import 
the  philosophy  of  Spencer  and  Stuart  Mill.  I  should 
like  to  send  to  this  class  of  Brahmins  a  missionary  like 
Professor  Drummond. 

Mr.  Moody — All  in  favor  of  Professor  Drummond  go- 
ing to  India,  say  "ay."     [An  emphatic  chorus — ay  !] 

Mr.  Cook — And  then  there  is  a  class  made  .up  partly 
of  Europeans  who  have  dropped  spiritual  religion,  partly 
of  the  Brahmin  caste,  partly  of  the  middle  classes,  and 
partly  of  the  lower  classes  of  people,  who  can  easily  be 
reached  by  the  English  tongue.  There  are  acute  minds 
among  them,  and  torpid  minds  ;  and  to  such  a  class, 
embracing  all  who  can  understand  the  English  language 
in  the  land  of  the  Ganges,  I  should  like,  with  your  per- 
mission, to  send  for  a  few  years  the  chairman  of  this 
meeting. 

Dr.  Pierson — All  in  favor  of  Mr.  Moody's  going  to  In- 
dia will  rise.  [All  rose.]  It  is  a  unanimous  vote.  And 
may  God  enable  him  to  make  such  arrangements  for 
these  schools  and  for  his  own  dear  family  as  will  permit 
him  to  make  a  tour  of  the  world. 

Mr.  Moody — Is  that  going  to  be  the  kind  of  training 
they  want  ? 

Mr.  Cook — If  I  were  going  as  a  missionary  I  should 
brush  up  all  the  theology  I  learned  in  four  years.     ( 


PREPARATION   FOR   EVANGELISM  ABROAD.       20$ 

should  need  all  that ;  and  I  should  need  to  add  very 
much  to  it  to  meet  those  people  in  some  of  their  discus- 
sions. That  is  what  you  will  need  if  you  are  going  to 
work  in  the  upper  classes.  Nevertheless,  I  don't  think 
India  is  to  be  won  by  debate.  India  thrives  on  meta- 
physics. 

Mr.  Moody — Did  you  ever  know  a  Hindu  to  be  con- 
verted by  debate  ? 

Mr.  Cook — No.  I  have  known  many  to  be  left  in  the 
dark  because  left  under  the  impression  that  you  have 
been  confuted  in  debate.  But  you  must  be  able  to 
give  a  reason  for  the  faith  that  is  in  you.  I  don't  think 
it  possible  for  you  to  be  too  well  fitted  to  give  a  rea- 
son for  your  faith.  You  must  stand  on  your  rendered 
reason  first  and  last.  You  cannot  cite  great  names 
in  India  as  3'ou  can  here  as  a  sufficient  authority  for 
your  intellectual  support.  In  a  Christian  land  I  should 
refer  to  Professor  Townsend,  Professor  Hodge,  or  Pro- 
fessor Fisher,  as  a  sufficient  authority  for  my  acceptance 
of  the  proposition  that  Christianity  had  a  supernatural 
origin  ;  but  in  India  the  question  will  arise  at  once  : 
"  Who  are  these  men  ?  "  You  should  be  able  to  give  in 
a  clear,  definite  way  the  reasons  for  your  faith.  India  is 
very  well  convinced  that  Christian  morality  is  better 
than  pagan.  Japan  is  convinced  of  that.  India,  Japan, 
and  China  are  convinced  substantially  that  a  perfect  life 
appeared  in  Jesus  Christ.  The  humanitarian  superiority 
of  Christian  philosophy  is  admitted.  But  if  you  are  to 
show  that  Christ  is  a  revelation — if  you  are  to  make 
men  feel  the  thrill  of  some  perception  of  the  realit)?-  of 
the  d'vinity  of  Christ — you  must  be  able  to  speak  on  the 
basis  of  reasons  that  v/ill  bear  examination.  It  will  not 
do  to  say  to  these  subtle  men  of  the  Orient,  as  it  does 
not  do  here  to  say,  that  all  the  authority  of  Christianity 
with  you  is  that  you  have  a  personal  acquaintance  with 


206  A  COLLEGE   OF   COLLEGES. 

it,  that  you  have  been  converted,  and  that  you  believe 
regeneration  is  a  supernatural  work,  because  only  a  su- 
pernatural being  could  introduce  into  your  soul  such  a 
new  principle  as  you  feel  moving  there.  All  that  intro- 
spective testimony  is  excellent  in  its  place,  and  God  for- 
bid that  I  should  underrate  the  internal  evidence  that 
we  have  of  the  Divine  origin  of  our  priceless  faith.  Con- 
join your  internal  and  external  evidences.  You  must 
be  able  to  show  that  Christianity  originated  in  a  way 
not  merely  unique,  but  actually  supernatural.  You  must 
be  able  to  show  the  external  evidence  matched  by  the 
internal— the  two  sides  of  the  arch,  of  which  the  key- 
stone is  that  perfectly  matchless  character  and  unique 
appearance  which  we  call  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  If 
you  are  going  to  preach  in  the  vernacular,  it  ma}"  not  be 
necessary  to  go  through  a  long  course  ;  but  speaking  to 
the  educated  classes  it  is  different.  I  found  that  after 
four  years  at  Andover,  and  three  years  in  Germany,  and 
six  or  eight  years  before  audiences  in  practical  work,  I 
was  very  poorly  equipped  indeed.  I  knew  far  too  lit- 
tle to  meet  the  demands  of  the  audiences  that  I  hap- 
pened to  see  ;  and  were  I  to  go  again  I  think  I  should 
endeavor  to  carry  not  only  all  the  weapons  I  had  the 
first  time,  but  many  more.  I  should  have  all  of  them 
more  brightly  furbished  than  they  were. 

Mr.  Moody — What  do  you  want  to  send  me  for? 

Mr.  Cook — There  is  a  way  of  persuading  the  head,  and 
there  is  a  way  of  persuading  the  heart — or  both.  You 
are  for  all-round  work. 

Mr.  Moody — If  all  these  things  are  good  for  you,  why 
not  for  me  ? 

Mr.  Cook — Well  ;  what  I  set  out  to  do  was  to  combat 
the  false  European  philosophies  that  had  been  imported. 
I  discussed  the  native  religions  very  little,  as  Dr.  Cham- 
berlain knows.     I  knew  nothing  of  India,  except  as  India 


PREPARATION   FOR   EVANGELISM  ABROAD.       20/ 

is  tinctured  with  these  imported  philosophies.  One  of 
the  first  things  I  said  to  my  lecture  committee  as  I  came 
to  the  harbor  of  Bombay,  before  I  met  them  on  land, 
was  that  I  did  not  propose  to  discuss  the  inherited  be- 
liefs of  India,  but  rather  the  imported  unbeliefs  ;  and 
that  was  the  scope  of  my  discussions  all  the  wav  from 
Bombay  to  Lahore.  I  remember  tliat  the  day  I  left 
India,  I  made  out  a  list  of  the  subjects  that  I  thought 
would  be  useful  if  I  should  ever  go  there  again  in  any 
moderate  length  of  time — a  list  of  the  subjects  I  should 
like  to  take  up.  I  showed  that  to  my  wife.  She  said  at 
once:  "Why,  that  is  precisely  the  list  of  subjects  you 
think  important  for  the  beyond-sea  islands,  and  for  New 
England,  and  for  Western  cities."  Precisely  so.  There 
are  no  foreign  lands.  Now,  if  you  young  men  are  going 
to  discuss  in  English  with  the  educated  classes,  I  should 
say  you  ought  to  be  as  well  prepared  in  the  Orient  as  in 
the  Occident. 

Mr.  Moody — Who  would  you  have  me  speak  to  if  I 
went  to  India  ? 

Mr.  Cook — If  you  went  to  India,  to  speak  English, 
sometimes  you  would  have  to  address  immense  assem- 
blages. This  house  isn't  large  enough  to  hold  the 
throng  that  would  greet  you  in  Calcutta.  In  Madras 
there  is  no  hall  known  to  me  that  would  hold  the  people 
that  would  come  out  to  greet  you.  You  would  have 
those  who  could  speak  English  among  the  native  popu- 
lations— shrewd  minds  among  them.  Brahmins,  edu- 
cated persons,  civil  officials,  officers  in  the  service  of  the 
British  Government — all  those  would  be  more  or  less 
well  represented,  if  you  should  go  to  India — as  of  course 
you  would — on  the  basis  of  the  good-will  of  all  the  evan- 
gelical denominations  there.  You  would  be  treated 
kindly  by  the  Established  Church  of  England,  and  the 
Established  Church  of  Scotland  ;  and  your  treatment 


208  A   COLLEGE   OF   COLLEGES. 

would  be  cordial  by  important  men  in  the  civil  service 
You  would  speak  to  all  v^^ho  understand  any  English, 
and  be  understood  in  religious  discussion  ;  and  your 
knowledge  of  the  Bible,  and  of  human  nature,  would  be 
your  right  hand  and  left  hand,  and  a  sword  in  each,  and 
with  the  two  weapons  together  you  would  pierce  the 
hearts  of  thousands.  Such  questions  as  Mr.  Moody  has 
put  to  me  cannot  be  answered  "yes"  or  "no  "  without 
qualification.  I  think  if  a  young  man's  mind  is  given  to 
philosoph}^ — if  he  has  the  inner  impulse  to  master  the 
most  difficult  points  in  Christian  discussion — he  might 
spend  a  good  deal  of  time  upon  them.  But  it  isn't  good 
for  every  man  to  go  into  that  field  of  thought.  If  a  young 
man  has  only  time  to  get  a  knowledge  of  Christian  truth 
without  philosophy,  and  will  learn  how  to  present  Scrip- 
ture in  a  manner  to  reach  the  innermost  recesses  of 
human  nature,  I  think  he  can  do  very,  very  much  good 
also.  There  are  different  men  and  different  ways. 
Some  men  are  better  without  a  theological  education — 
it  would  do  them  harm.  There  are  different  types. 
They  have  got  as  many  stories  in  the  organization  of 
India  as  you  will  find  anywhere  in  the  West,  and  the 
differences  as  the  sphere  rises  are  greater.  You  "  stay 
put  "  there.  You  are  brought  up  in  a  class  or  caste,  and 
3^ou  have  almost  nothing  to  do  with  other  sections  of 
society.  But  in  India  you  will  meet  men  from  all  sec- 
tions who  can  speak  English,  and  Vv^ho  will  understand 
language  addressed  to  the  deepest  impulses  of  the  human 
heart,  and  directed  to  the  delivery  of  the  most  searching 
Biblical  truths.  There  are  openings  for  a  great  variety 
of  teachers  ;  for  the  wants  of  the  Oriental  populations 
are  endlessly  varied. 

Dr.  Pierson — I  want  to  ask  you  calmly  and  coolly, 
what  is  your  honest  judgment  as  to  the  present  attitude 
of   the  world   with   reference  to   Christianity,  and   the 


PREPARATION   FOR   EVANGELISM   ABROAD.       209 

present  opportunity  for  j^oung  men   to  evangelize  this 
world  with  rapidity  ? 

Mr.  Cook — I  endorse  what  you  say  on  that  subject, 
Dr.  Pierson.  If  I  am  not  misled  by  statistics,  this  coun- 
try has  seen  a  marvellous  series  of  religious  awakenings 
in  the  last  four  years.  If  Mr.  Moody  were  not  here  I 
should  eulogize  his  work  as  I  think  it  deserves.  By  the 
blessing  of  Heaven,  he  has  introduced  on  both  sides  of 
the  Atlantic  certain  methods  of  lay  religious  activit}^ 
that  have  been  exceedingly  fruitful  within  the  last 
decade  of  years.* As  to  the  speedy  evangeliz- 
ation of  the  world.  Dr.  Alden,  of  the  American  Board, 
tells  me  that  he  believes  it  is  quite  within  the  power  of 
Roman  Catholic  and  Protestant  Christians  to  bring  the 
spoken  or  written  Gospel  to  the  knowledge  of  every 
human  being  within  twenty-five  years.  The  bells  in 
Christian  towers  and  the  lights  in  Christian  chapels  are 
almost  within  sight  and  hearing  of  each  other  around 
the  Vvdiole  globe.  At  the  opening  of  this  century  there 
were  only  fifty  translations  of  the  Scriptures  ;  nov/ there 
are  308 — or  were  last  night  ;  there  may  be  a  dozen  more 
now.  It  will  give  a  false  impression,  however,  if  I  do 
not  correct  the  conclusion  from  these  statistics.  One  in 
tv/elve  of  the  ancient  Apostles  was  a  Judas.  I  don't 
believe  one  in  twelve  of  the  modern  apostles  is  a  Judas. 
Nevertheless,  there  is  this  difference  betv/een  the  ancient 
and  the  modern  :  the  ancient  Judas  carried  the  bag,  and 
when  he  betrayed  his  Master  he  had  the  grace  to  go  ani 
hang  himself.  In  our  modern  church  system  it  often 
huppens  that  the  man  Vv'ho  carries  the  bag,  and  proves 
dishonest,  hasn't  the  grace  to  go  and  hang  himself  ;  and 
v/hat  is  worse,  the  churches  have  such  lax  ideas  of  dis- 


*  Here  Mr.  Cook  read  a  quantity  of  statistics  from  the  New  York 
Independent  oi  May  19,  1S87. — Ed. 


210  A   COLLEGE   OF   COLLEGES. 

cipline  that  they  don't  go  and  hang  him.  I  suppose  the 
active  Christians  are  not  more  than  about  one  in  ten  of 
the  total  number  of  professed  disciples  of  Christ.  Mat- 
thew Arnold  lectured  on  the  virtues  of  minorities.  This 
country  is  to  be  saved,  if  at  all,  by  a  minority.  I  glorify 
the  few.  There  are  foxes  enough  in  this  assembly  to  set 
the  world  on  fire  if  they  could  only  be  sent  out  as  Sam- 
son sent  out  his  foxes.  Be  wise  as  foxes  ;  be  harmless 
as  doves.  Let  us  insist  on  this  primitive  theolog}^,  that 
has  been  so  admirably  defended  by  Professor  Townsend. 
I  believe  with  Professor  Drummond  in  the  law  of  the 
survival  of  the  fittest ;  and  Professor  Townsend  has 
shown  us  what  that  is  :  it  is  sound  theology. 

Mr.  Moody — Here  is  a  young  man  converted  at  twenty 
or  twenty-one,  and  full  of  missionary  fire.  He  has  had 
no  advantages,  and  has  no  hope  of  a  chance  to  go  through 
four  years  at  college  and  three  years  in  the  seminary. 
If  all  that  is  necessary,  that  discourages  him.  If  you  say 
to  young  men  going  out  to  the  foreign  field  that  they 
have  got  to  go  through  years  of  study,  the  bulk  of  them 
will  stay  at  hom^e — their  zeal  is  quenched  out.  Very  few 
will  go  to  the  missionary  field  if  they  have  twelve  years 
of  study  before  them  first.  Look  at  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land. She  doesn't  require  such  very  high  education  of 
all  her  men,  and  )^et  you  will  hear  as  good  preaching 
from  the  average  English  curate  as  you  would  want  to 
listen  to.  They  have  some  mighty  preachers,  no  doubt 
— a  few  deans  and  canons  who  have  leisure  in  the  cathe- 
drals, and  great  scholars  who  have  special  work  to  do  ; 
but  take  the  average  men  who  are  not  so  highly  edu- 
cated. Listen  to  them  and  you  will  hear  powerful  Bib- 
lical preaching.  I  believe  the  Church  of  England  is  the 
most  powerful  Protestant  Church  in  Christendom  to- 
day. They  have  got  more  godly  men  and  more  vital 
piety  than  any  organization  I  know  of  in  the  world. 


PREPARATION  FOR  EVANGELISM  ABROAD.   211 

Dr.  Pierson — How  would  it  do  for  young  men  who 
could  not  take  a  long  course  of  stud^/  in  this  country,  to 
go  to  the  foreign  field,  and  under  the  educating  influ- 
ence of  the  colleges  that  are  being  established  there, 
engage  at  one  time  in  missionary  work  and  at  the  same 
time  carry  on  their  studies  for  a  larger  qualification  of 
usefulness  ? 

Mr.  Cook — Well,  Mr.  Chairman,  ladies  and  gentle- 
men :  if  I  must  free  my  whole  mind,  I  will  say  that  the 
hands  cannot  say  to  the  feet,  "  We  have  no  need  of 
you."  The  Christian  ministry  is  an  organism.  One 
part  is  not  more  honorable  than  another,  and  the  parts 
are  not  alike.  They  are  all  needed.  The  wants  of  the 
Orient,  like  those  of  the  Occident,  are  very  varied,  and 
we  may  well  have  a  variety  of  theological  preparation. 
But  however  powerful  3^ou  make  the  hands  and  arms,  or 
the  lower  extremities,  they  cannot  do  without  the  air  that 
the  Christian  respiratory  apparatus  takes  in.  We  need 
the  head.  A  theological  education  is  worth  having— even 
a  broad  one.  You  [turning  to  Mr.  Moody]  are  doing  a 
work  here  of  endless  import.  Everybody  admires  your 
course.  But  I  wouldn't  have  all  m.inisters  educated  at 
Princeton,  nor  all  ministers  educated  at  Northiield. 
Both  kinds  of  training  are  needed  for  the  preparation  of 
preachers  for  the  Occident  and  for  the  Orient.  And 
now,  in  definite  reply  to  Dr.  Pierson's  question,  T  vv'ill  say  : 
Ask  the  missionaries  in  the  field,  what  is  practicable  ? 
Go  to  those  who  have  perilled  their  lives  at  the  front  in 
missionary  labors,  and  be  advised  by  them.  Most  of 
those  who  have  been  highly  successful  have  had  double 
training  :  first  on  the  theological  and  philosophical  side, 
and  then  on  the  practical.  Their  piety  has  been  intense 
enough  to  kindle  anthracite.  It  is  true,  anthracite 
doesn't  kindle  quickly  ;  but  while  it  kindles  slowly  it 
doesn't  chill  again  easily.     A  young  man  rushing  out 


212  A   COLLEGE   OF  COLLEGES. 

without  counting  the  cost  is  like  kindling-wood.  When 
kindling-wood  burns,  the  flame  is  fierce  for  a  time  ;  but 
it  doesn't  last.  There  isn't  as  much  heat  in  it  as 
in  the  flame  of  anthracite.  A  sound  theological  edu- 
cation is  like  hard  coal.  Keep  all  your  kindling-wood  ; 
but  buy  anthracite. 

Mr.  Moody — Dr.  Chamberlain,  what  do  you  say  about 
a  young  man  going  through  a  long  theological  course  ? 

Dr.  Chamberlain — If  you  speak  of  India,  it  is  the  one 
field,  probably,  in  all  the  world  where  the  highest  quali- 
fications, both  mental  and  spiritual,  are  required.  The 
Lord  has  given  me  the  privilege  of  going  through  the 
different  missionary  lands  and  visiting  the  missions  of 
sixty-five  different  missionary  societies  in  almost  every 
country  ;  and  there  are  fields  where  all  that  is  needed 
will  be  the  grace  of  God  in  the  heart,  a  sound  common- 
school  education,  and  a  knowledge  of  the  Bible.  Mis- 
sionaries in  other  countries  have  told  me  that  they  could 
use  that  kind  of  men  ;  and  there  are  places  in  India 
where  we  could  use  them.  [A  Voice — How  about 
China  ?]  The  missionaries  told  me  that  such  men  could 
be  of  great  use  in  China — more  so,  they  thought,  than 
in  India.  India  is  peculiar.  We  want  those  men  in 
India  ;  but  the  majority  of  missionaries  going  there 
must  be  well-trained  men. 

Mr.  Moody — I  want  to  put  myself  straight  here. 
Some  of  you  may  think  I  oppose  theological  seminaries. 
I  want  to  say  I  believe  we  want  thoroughly  trained  men. 
I  don't  think  we  have  enough  trained  men.  At  the  same 
time,  we  want  some  men  to  stand  between  the  laity  and 
the  ministers — I  don't  know  what  you  would  call  them 
— gap  men.  We  want  men  to  stand  in  the  gap.  There 
is  such  a  thing  as  educating  a  man  away  from  the  rank 
and  file.  There  is  a  class  of  men,  I  believe,  that  have 
got  to  be  raised  up  to  do  what  we  used  to  call  in  the  war 


PREPARATION   FOR  EVANGELISM   ABROAD.       21 3 

bushwhacking.  We  want  irregulars — men  that  will  go 
out  and  do  work  that  the  educated  ministers  can  t  lo  : 
get  in  among  the  people,  and  identify  themselves  with 
the  people.  And  I  don't  believe  these  foreign  fields  are 
going  to  be  reached  until  we  have  the  two  classes.  I 
want  to  say  to  these  young  men  that  have  got  no  hope 
that  they  will  ever  be  able  to  get  a  college  education, 
and  that  are  fierce  for  the  field  :  In  the  name  of  God  go 
out.  Take  your  Bibles  and  the  Spirit  of  God,  and  I 
believe  you  will  have  success.  If  there  is  room  in  India 
for  Mr.  Cook  and  myself,  I  am  sure  there  is  room  for  you. 
If  I  could  go  to  India  or  China,  I  could  only  preach  the 
Gospel.  It  is  a  matter  of  revelation,  and  not  investiga- 
tion. It  is  a  matter  of  revelation — God  revealing  Himself 
to  me.  I  believe  all  the  philosophies  in  the  world  can't 
touch  the  heart.  But  when  Jesus  Christ  meets  a  man, 
that  man's  whole  being  is  interested.  That  is  what  the 
world  wants.  May  God  burn  it  into  our  souls,  that  if  a 
man  will  preach  the  Gospel  in  love,  and  in  the  power  of 
the  Holy  Ghost,  he  is  going  to  have  success. 

Dr.  Chamberlain — I  sat  beside  Mr.  Cook  in  Madras 
when  he  was  speaking  in  houses  larger  than  this 
crammed  with  Hindus,  and  saw  him  knock  the  bottom 
right  out  of  their  beliefs.  And  the  missionaries  said  : 
"  Now,  can't  we  get  Mr.  Moody  to  come  and  put  a  new 
bottom  in  7 " 

Mr.  Cook  at  this  point  arranged  Professor  Townsend 
and  Dr.  Chamberlain  one  on  each  side  of  Mr.  Moody, 
saying  :  "  This  is  an  object-lesson.  The  three  a  team 
for  India  !  "     [Loud  and  prolonged  applause.] 


CHAPTER   XVIII. 

CONSECRATION    AND    CONCENTRATION. 

Address  by  Mr.  D.  L.  Moody — To  "Consecration,"  as  Expounded 
by  Dr.  Broadus,  he  would  add  *'  Concentration  " — Wisdom  of  Fol- 
lowing one  Channel — "Too  Much  Religion" — Wholesome  Recre- 
ation Encouraged — ' '  Fanatics  " — Daniel  —  Enoch — Elijah — Abra- 
ham Contrasted  with  Lot — Paul's  Motto — His  Perseverance  and 
Final  Triumph. 

One  Sunday  morning  Dr.  Broadus  preached  from  the 
text — Romans  xii.  i  :  "  I  beseech  you  therefore,  brethren, 
by  the  mercies  of  God,  that  ye  present  your  bodies  a 
living  sacrifice,  holy,  acceptable  unto  God,  which  is  your 
reasonable  service."  He  showed  that  "the  body"  in- 
cludes the  physical  being  in  health,  and  all  the  mental 
and  spiritual  powers.  He  urged  in  detail  the  consecra- 
tion of  intellect,  memory,  imagination,  taste,  passions, 
will,  judgment,  common  sense,  sympathy,  and  personal 
magnetism,  as  well  as  attainments  and  possessions. 
Continuing  he  said  :  Many  years  ago  I  was  a  young 
pastor  in  a  Virginia  village  near  a  great  University,  and 
one  Sunday  evening  in  the  prayer-meeting  there  came 
in  a  young  man — one  of  the  students— whom  I  knew  as 
a  professing  Christian.  He  has  since  become  one  of 
my  best  and  dearest  friends,  and  has  filled  many  high 
places  with  distinguished  usefulness  ;  but  I  barel)^  knew 
him  then.  I  asked  him  to  pray  in  the  prayer-meeting ; 
and  in  the  course  of  a  simple,  earnest  prayer  such  as  a 
truly  intelligent  and  loving  soul  might  be  expected  to 
make,  he  used  an  expression  which  sank  into  the  very 

(214) 


CONSECRATION   AND   CONCENTRATION.  21  5 

soul  of  me,  and  which  I  have  remembered,  I  think,  doz- 
ens of  times.  He  said  :  "  O  Lord,  please  to  take  us  as 
we  are,  for  Jesus'  sake,  and  make  us  by  Thy  Holy  Spirit 
what  we  ought  to  be."  My  friends,  that  is  the  Gospel. 
That  is  the  beginning  and  the  end  of  it,  and  the  all  in 
all.  That  is  the  hope  there  is  before  us  ;  otherwise  to 
talk  about  our  laying  ourselves  on  God's  altar  would  be 
mere  mockery  of  our  woe  and  our  ruin.  But  there  is 
hope  that  God  may,  for  Jesus'  sake,  take  us  as  we  are, 
and  then  may  help  us  by  His  Holy  Spirit  to  become 
what  we  ought  to  be.  And  now  in  conclusion  of  this 
sermon,  I  do  most  respectfully,  and  with  all  a  human 
soul's  most  earnest  longing  desire — I  do  as  a  man  who 
thinks  sometimes  about  what  life  means  and  what  eter- 
nity is  going  to  be — as  a  man  Vv^ho  has  preached  many 
times  in  many  places,  and  yet  perhaps  never  where  the 
possibilities  of  good  seem  greater  than  they  are  here  to- 
day— I  call  upon  all  present  before  God,  and  I  cannot 
suffer  any  exception,  that  you  will  join  me,  not  aloud, 
but  in  the  solemn  silence  of  your  soul,  in  taking  up  that 
young  student's  prayer.  If  you  have  been  a  Christian 
long,  you  will  be  glad  to  say  that  over  again  ;  and  if 
you  never  have  been  a  Christian — I  don't  knovv^  you, 
friend  ;  you  don't  know  yourself  very  well  ;  but  God 
knows  all  about  you — if  you  have  never  been  truly  a 
Christian  before,  oh,  will  you  not  take  up  that  prayer 
here  to-day?  Shall  not  this  be  the  turning-point  of 
your  life — turning  you  from  self-seeking  to  God  ?  Now, 
then  :  "  O  Lord,  take  us  as  we  are,  for  Jesus'  sake,  and 
make  us,  by  Thy  Holy  Spirit,  what  we  ought  to  be. 
Amen." 

Mr.  Moody  said  :  My  soul  has  been  stirred  within  me 
this  morning.  I  don't  suppose  there  has  been  a  meeting 
like  this  in  the  history  of  the  world.  That  is  a  bold 
thing  to  say ;  but  in  fact  there  could  not  have  been  such 


2l6  A   COLLEGE   OF   COLLEGES. 

a  meeting  a  few  years  ago.  There  could  not  have  been 
so  many  colleges  represented  till  we  had  the  railroad. 
I  had  an  uncle  who  died  in  this  town — he  came  here 
from  Harvard  just  after  his  college  course — and  if  he 
could  come  up  out  of  his  grave,  and  could  see  these  del- 
egations from  so  many  colleges — Williams,  Harvard, 
Yale,  colleges  in  the  West,  and  even  the  Pacific  slope — 
he  would  think  it  almost  incredible.  In  his  day  I  don't 
think  it  w^ould  have  been  possible  to  have  all  these  col- 
leges represented.  And  now,  what  I  want  is  to  urge 
you  young  men  to  carry  out  what  has  been  said  in  this 
sermon.  I  want  to  add  another  v/ord  to  "  consecrate," 
and  that  is  "concentrate."  We  are  living  in  an  intense 
age.  The  trouble  with  a  great  many  men  is  that  they 
spread  themselves  out  over  too  much  ground.  They  fail 
in  everything.  If  they  would  only  put  their  life  into 
one  channel,  and  keep  in  it,  they  would  accomplish 
something.  They  make  no  impression,  because  they  do 
a  little  work  here  and  a  little  work  there.  They  spread 
themselves  out  so  thin  that  they  make  no  impression  at 
all.  Lay  yourselves  on  the  altar  of  God,  and  then  con- 
centrate on  some  one  work.  Concentrate  upon  some  one 
work,  and  go  about  it. 

Some  of  you  young  men  are  afraid  of  this  doctrine 
of  consecration.  You  are  afraid  that  you  will  be  classed 
among  certain  people  as  too  religious  ;  and  a  great 
many  young  men  are  afraid  of  being  too  religious,  A 
great  many  young  men  stay  away  from  meetings  of  this 
kind  because  they  are  afraid  of  being  classed  as  young 
men  that  have  got  too  much  religion.  Now,  if  you  take 
my  advice,  you  will  just  give  up  the  whole  thing,  or  else 
be  out-and-out  on  God's  side.  What  we  want  to-day  is 
men  who  believe  down  deep  in  their  soul  what  they  are 
talking  about.  The  world  has  got  tired  and  sick  of 
sham.     I  want  to  urge  you  to  be  out-and-out  for  God. 


CONSECRATION  AND   CONCENTRATION.  21/ 

My  conviction  is  that  the  reason  why  Christianity  is 
dragged  down  in  the  dust  as  it  is  to-day,  is  that  so  many 
people  profess  what  they  don't  possess.  Let  your  whole 
heart  be  given  up  to  God's  service.  Aim  high.  What 
is  your  aim  ?  What  is  your  aim  ?  What  is  yours  ?- 
yt.mrs  ?  Put  the  question  to  yourself.  What  is  yours 
[pointing  to  one  individual]  ?  [Answer — The  ministry.] 
Thank  God  !  That  is  a  good  thing  to  aim  for.  The 
ministry  is  higher  than  any  throne.  Some  young  men 
look  down  upon  the  ministry  ;  but  I  tell  you,  to  be  a 
herald  of  the  Cross — to  be  a  man  appointed  by  God  to 
preach  the  Gospel — is  the  highest  position  offered  to 
any  mortal.  I  have  no  doubt  that  men  have  come  to 
this  convention  that  look  down  on  the  ministry  ;  but  I 
tell  you,  if  a  man  is  called  by  God,  and  qualified  by 
God,  and  sent  into  the  Christian  ministry,  he  will  be 
heard  of  not  only  in  this  life,  but  in  the  life  to  come — 
he  Vv'ill  shine  not  only  in  time,  but  in  eternity.  And  if 
you  are  aiming  for  the  ministry,'young  men,  let  me  beg 
of  you  :  Get  full  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  Just  make  up  your 
minds  you  will  not  leave  these  gatherings  until  God  fills 
you.  Don't  be  afraid.  Lots  of  people  are  afraid  to  be 
filled  with  the  Spirit  of  God — afraid  of  being  called 
fanatics.  You  are  not  good  for  anything  iintil  the  world 
considers  you  a  fanatic.  I  wouldn't  give  that  [snapping 
his  finger]  for  a  man  that  wasn't  considered  fanatical  by 
the  world.  FoK  said  that  every  Quaker  ought  to  shake 
the  country  ten  miles  around.  What  does  the  Scripture 
say  ?  One  shall  chase  a  thousand,  and  two  shall  put  ten 
thousand  to  flight.  It  takes  about  a  thousand  to  chase 
one  now.  It  takes  about  a  thousand  Christians  to  make 
one  decent  one  now.  Why  ?  Because  they  are  afraid  of 
being  too  religious.  What  does  this  world  want  to-day  ? 
Men.  Men  that  are  out-and-out  in  character,  and  not 
half-and-half.     We've  got  lots  oi  them — got  thera  by  the 

lO 


2l8  A   COLLEGE   OF  COLLLGES. 

acre-lots  ;  half-men,  quarter-men.  Fd  rather  have  one 
rounded-out  man  than  to  have  a  whole  acre-lot  of  those 
half-men. 

Now,  some  young  men  think  that  in  order  to  be  out- 
and-out  Christians,  you  have  got  to  give  up  a  great 
many  things.  Last  night  I  took  my  horse  and  went  out. 
I  saw  you  playing  base-ball — playing  it  as  if  your  life  de- 
pended upon  it.  I  rode  along,  and  I  saw  young  men 
talking  about  studying  their  Bibles — talking  as  if  their 
life  depended  upon  it.  Then  I  saw  some  men  playing 
lawn-tennis — playing  it  as  if  their  life  depended  upon  it. 
I  liked  that.  I  went  along  farther,  and  saw  forty  or 
fifty  young  men,  secretaries  of  Young  Men's  Christian 
Associations  through  the  country,  discussing  their  work 
with  all  their  soul.  Thank  God  I  have  seen  such  a  day  ! 
I  believe  the  fathers  who  have  passed  on  before  us  would 
like  to  have  seen  it.  I  believe  the  religion  of  Christ 
covers  the  whole  man.  Why  shouldn't  a  man  play  base- 
ball or  law^n-tennis  ?  But  I  noticed  that  when  the  bell 
rang  for  the  meeting,  all  those  games  were  dropped  and 
you  came  in  here.  Don't  imagine  that  you  have  got  to 
go  into  a  cave  to  be  consecrated,  and  stay  there  all  your 
life.  Whatever  you  take  up,  take  it  up  with  your  whole 
heart.  At  the  same  time  let  your  motive  be  right.  A 
man  can  go  into  a  game  of  base-ball  and  win  the  whole 
lot  of  them  to  Jesus  Christ.  Let  that  be  your  aim. 
"  They  that  be  wise  shall  shine  as  the  brightness  of  the 
firmament ;  and  they  that  turn  many  to  righteo  isness 
as  the  stars  forever  and  ever."  Who  are  going  to  shine  ? 
The  men  that  turn  others  to  Christ.  Those  are  the  men 
that  are  going  to  shine. 

Ask  Daniel  isn't  it  true  ?  He  shines  to-day.  He  shines 
brighter  to-day  than  he  did  twenty-five  or  thirty  cen- 
turies ago.  Where  are  the  millionaires  of  Babylon  to- 
day ?     Can  you  find  them  ?    Where  are  the  millionaires  of 


CONSECRATION  AND   CONCENTRATION.  2T9 

even  one  hundred  years  ago  ? — who  can  give  their  names  ? 
Forgotten.  I  presume  they  were  forgotten  as  soon  as 
their  bodies  turned  into  dust.  Where  are  the  wise  men — 
the  great  astrologers  and  the  Chaldeans  ?  Where  are 
the  wise  men  of  Babylon  to-day  ?  But  that  old  Hebrew — 
he  went  down  to  shine.  Thank  God  he  shines  all  along. 
He  has  been  shining  these  2,500  years.  Now,  he  dared 
to  be  called  relisfious.  He  dared  to  be  called  narrow- 
minded.  I  believe  if  you  had  gone  up  to  some  man  in 
Babylon  and  asked  him  about  Daniel  he  would  have 
said  :  "Well  ;  he  is  a  good  man— a  very  good  man  ;  but 
you  know  he  is  a  very  narrow-minded  man — a  bigoted 
man.  While  he  was  in  the  king's  household  he  wouldn't 
eat  meat  or  drink  wine — wouldn't  touch  them  at  all. 
He  lived  on  pulse  and  water,  and  came  near  losing  his 
head."  But,  my  dear  friends,  look  at  the  way  that  man 
has  stood  all  these  centuries.  He  dared  to  be  odd  ;  he 
dared  to  be  peculiar. 

I  dare  say  if  you  had  dropped  down  into  that  old  an- 
tediluvian world,  and  asked  about  Enoch,  they  would 
have  said  :  "  Well ;  he  is  a  very  good  man  ;  but  then,  he 
is  a  very  odd  man — a  peculiar  man."  He  was  the  oddest 
man  in  his  day.  If  he  met  a  crowd  going  to  a  horse- 
race, he  would  go  in  the  other  direction — the  current 
going  one  way,  and  he  going  the  other.  He  dared  to 
go  against  the  current.  You  have  got  to  dare  to  stand 
up  against  an  ungodly  world.  Enoch  was  considered 
very  peculiar  ;  but  I  tell  you  what :  he  stands  brighter 
upon  the  page  of  history  than  any  man  in  the  first  two 
thousand  years.  Why  ?  He  lived  with  God.  And  God 
liked  his  company  so  well  that  one  day  He  said  :  "  Enoch, 
come  and  take  a  walk."  He  took  a  walk — a  long  walk — 
and  hasn't  got  back  yet.  With  one  leap  he  leaped  across 
the  crystal  stream,  and  strode  victorious  into  Heaven. 
Young  men,  don't  you  be  afraid  of  being  too  religious. 


220  A   COLLEGE   OF   COLLEGES. 

May  God  forgive  us  for  ever  having  such  a  thought 
come  into  our  minds. 

I  suppose  if  you  had  dropped  down  in  the  days  of 
Elijah  and  asked  what  kind  of  a  man  Elijah  was,  they 
would  have  told  you  he  was  a  very  peculiar  man — very 
odd— very  religious.  He  had  a  kind  of  religion  that 
they  didn't  believe  in.  They  would  have  told  you  that 
he  was  a  man  v/ith  only  one  idea,  and  that  was  to  glorify 
the  unseen  God.  But  I  tell  you,  my  dear  friends,  he 
had  miore  power  than  Ahab.  Think  what  power  he  had. 
He  just  locked  up  the  heavens  and  put  the  key  in  his 
pocket,  and  there  couldn't  be  rain  for  three  years.  Ahab 
became  his  errand-boy.  With  this  power,  when  he 
wanted  to  call  down  rain,  it  came.  He  got  power  by 
living  a  separated  life.  He  consecrated  his  whole  self 
to  God,  laying  himself  on  the  altar,  a  living  sacrifice, 
and  saying  :  "Take  me  !  Use  me  !  "  God  used  him  to 
shake  that  nation.  How  his  name  has  lived  these  thou- 
sands of  years,  and  how  it  is  going  to  live  !  He  had 
the  power  of  the  Spirit  of  God.  My  friends,  let  us  have 
it.  He  was  a  man  of  like  passions  with  us — he  v/as  just 
like  you  and  me.  You  and  I  can  have  that  same  power. 
We  are  apt  to  think  these  old  warriors  were  a  different 
kind  of  men  from  ourselves,  but  they  were  just  like  us. 
But  then,  they  were  men  of  mighty  faith.  They  dared 
to  stand  alone  ;  and  there  are  times  when  you  have  got 
to  stand  alone — when  you  daren't  turn  or  compromise. 

Look  at  Abraham.  Oh,  Abraham  didn't  begin  to  be 
as  shrewd  a  man  as  Lot.  If  you  had  gone  into  Sodom, 
and  asked  about  Lot,  they  would  have  told  you  he  was 
the  most  prosperous  man  in  all  Sodom  ;  he  owned  the 
best  property  in  Sodom — he  owned  the  best  corner  lots. 
His  family  moved  in  the  very  highest  circles — at  the 
Very  top.  He  v/asn't  too  religious.  He  wasn't  like  his 
uncle  Abraham.     They  thought  Abraham  a  very  narrow- 


•     COXSECRATION  AND   CONCENTRATION.  221 

minded  man.  But  Lot  was  a  noble  man — he  was  just 
the  kind  of  man  the  Sodomites  liked.  They  liked  that 
kind  of  Christianity.  He  was  their  style  of  a  man.  If 
there  had  been  a  railroad  running  from  Sodom  to  Jeru- 
salem, he  would  have  been  a  prominent  director  in  it. 
He  believed  in  all  modern  improvements.  He  was  get- 
ting along  amazingly  well.  Bear  in  mind,  Lot  is  a 
typical  character.  He  represents  the  professing  Chris- 
tians of  to-day  who  don't  want  to  be  too  religious. 
They  just  want  to  get  into  Heaven.  They  keep  their 
religion  as  a  sort  of  fire-escape.  They  don't  want  to  be 
too  religious — peculiar — narrow-minded.  Lot  wasn't 
too  religious.  He  didn't  belong  to  that  class.  He  v/as 
"a  noble  man."  But  God  knew  about  him  ;  and  v/hen 
He  came  to  investigate  him,  he  found  a  rotten  state  of 
things.  Lot  had  been  there  twenty  years  and  hadn't 
any  family  altar — been  there  twenty  years  and  hadn't 
got  a  convert — been  there  twenty  years  and  not  one 
man  had  been  made  better  in  all  Sodom.  I  have  no 
doubt  when  Abraham  was  pleading  with  God  he  said  : 
"Lot  has  been  there  twenty  years.  Certainly  he  has 
got  some  converts."  But  there  wasn't  a  convert,  and  all 
Sodom  suffered  one  fate.  Young  men  say  :  "  Let  us 
make  the  best  of  both  worlds."  That  is  what  you  hear 
now.  Well  ;  Lot  tried  that,  and  he  came  to  a  miserable 
end.  Look  at  Abraham.  How  he  shines  on  the  face  of 
history  ! — how  he  lives  to-day,  and  is  going  to  live  ! 
There  was  a  man  who  walked  with  God.  He  was  the 
friend  of  God.     See  how  he  shines  ! 

Take  Paul — another  good  instance.  Look  at  that 
man.  They  called  him  mad.  How  I  wish  we  had  a  lot 
of  that  kind  of  madness  now  !  Some  one  has  said  :  "  If 
he  Vv'as  mad,  he  had  a  good  keeper  on  the  way,  and  a 
good  asylum  at  the  end  of  the  route."  He  could  afford 
to  be  mad.     He  was  a  man  that  turned  the  world  upside 


222  A  COLLEGE   OF  COLLEGES. 

down.  I  believe  his  little  finger  was  thicker  than  most 
of  us — yes,  bigger  .than  five  hundred  of  us.  There  was 
a  man  who  consecrated  his  life  to  God.  He  had  one 
motto.  Do  you  want  to  know  what  Paul's  motto  was  ? 
"This  one  thing  I  do."  He  hadn't  forty  aims.  If  he 
had,  you  wouldn't  have  heard  of  him.  He  threw  his 
whole  life  into  one  channel.  "This  one  thing  I  do: 
Forgetting  those  things  which  are  behind,  and  reaching 
forth  unto  those  things  which  are  before,  I  press  toward 
the  mark  for  the  prize  of  the  high  calling  of  God  in 
Christ  Jesus."  And  he  has  gone  on  from  conquest  to 
conquest — higher  and  higher.  The  world  looked  down 
upon  him,  but  the  world  wasn't  worthy  of  him.  He  is 
well  known  in  Heaven.  If  you  had  asked  the  rich  men 
in  Corinth  what  kind  of  a  man  Paul  was,  they  would 
have  said:  "Huh!  he  is  a  fanatic — gone  clean  mad. 
He's  honest  ;  but  he  is  a  madman."  Well  ;  he  has  been 
gone  1, 800  years,  and  how  his  Epistles  are  going  to  the 
very  corners  of  the  earth.  There's  a  man  who  had  one 
aim  in  life.  Now  let  us  here  this  morning  before  we  go 
hence — let  us  get  right  on  Paul's  platform,  and  let  us 
have  one  aim  :  "  One  thing  I  do."  Let  us  push  right 
on  toward  the  Kingdom  of  God.  Let  the  Kingdom  be 
first  in  everything,  and  everything  else  will  be  added. 
We  needn't  be  bothering  our  heads  and  troubling  our 
iTiinds  about  what  our  future  is  going  to  be.  If  we  are 
wholly  given  up  to  God  He  will  lead  us.  Paul  never 
marked  out  the  path  he  was  going  to  tread.  God 
marked  it  out.  Hold  j^our  reins  loosely,  and  God  v;ill 
Iccvd  you.  Paul  went  out  to  preach,  and  God  led.  And 
then  see  the  end  of  this  man.  That's  the  way  to  tell  a 
man's  success  in  life,  isn't  it  ? 

How  my  bones  get  on  fire  when  I  read  about  Paul  ! 
Look  at  him.  They  have  beaten  him  with  thirty- nine 
stripes.     Look  at  him.     Do  you  know  what  the  Roman 


CONSECRATION   AND   CONCENTRATION.  223 

custom  was  ?  They  bound  him  to  a  post,  and  struck 
him  across  the  back  with  sharp  steel,  cutting  him  clear 
through  the  skin  and  flesh  to  the  bone.  Very  often  a 
prisoner  died  in  the  very  act  of  scourging.  "  Five  times 
received  I  forty  stripes  save  one."  If  I  could  get  one 
stripe  on  my  back  there  would  be  forty  publishers  after 
me,  wanting  to  publish  my  life  as  a  martyr.  "  Five  times 
received  I  forty  stripes  save  one,"  and  he  hardly  said 
anything  about  it.  Suppose  you  had  said  to  Paul  after 
one  of  these  beatings  :  "  Now,  Paul,  if  you  get  out  of 
this  difficulty,  what  are  you  going  to  do?"  "Going  to 
do  ?  I  press  toward  the  mark  for  the  prize  cf  the  high 
calling.  You  don't  think  a  few  stripes  will  turn  me? 
Not  a  bit !  "  Take  him  again.  They  have  beaten  him 
again  :  "  Paul,  if  you  escape  this  difficult}^,  what  are  you 
going  to  do?"  "Do?  I  do  but  one  thing.  I  press  to- 
ward the  mark  for  the  prize  of  the  high  calling."  "  But 
it's  costing  you  a  good  deal.  You  have  gone  through 
perils  by  land  and  sea,  you  have  suffered  hunger  and 
thirst.  They  have  beaten  you  twice  with  rods,  and  five 
times  laid  their  cruel  stripes  on  your  defenceless  body." 
"Ah,  these  are  but  light  afflictions.  They  only  hasten 
my  reward.  They  only  make  it  more  precious."  You 
couldn't  swerve  him.  I  tell  you,  the  devil  got  his  match 
when  he  got  hold  of  Paul.  He  didn't  seem  to  think 
these  things  were  worth  mentioning.  He  only  alludes 
to  them  when  he  wants  to  defend  his  character. 

He  says  they  stoned  him.  I  don't  doubt  they  left  him 
for  dead.  Suppose  you  had  gone  there  and  seen  him. 
There  he  lies,  with  his  body  all  swollen — all  black  and 
blue.  "Now,  Paul,"  some  of  our  modern  Christians 
would  say ;  "  don't  you  think  you  had  better  be  a  little 
more  conservative  ?  You  are  altogether  too  hot.  You 
are  too  pronounced.  You  bear  down  too  hard  on  the 
Jews.    Give  them  polished  words.   Just  give  them  smooth 


224  A   COLLEGE   OF   COLLEGES. 

words."  Like  a  prominent  man  I  knew  some  years  ago 
— a  man  who  had  been  prominent  in  the  Senate  and  the 
Supreme  Court,  prominent  in  the  law.  When  he  was 
speaking  one  time,  some  one  asked  him  what  he  was 
talking  about.  "Well,"  said  he,  "I  was  just  trying  to 
think  what  I  was  talking  about."  Lots  of  ministers 
talk  when  they  might  as  well  not  open  their  mouths. 
Paul  might  have  talked  and  talked,  and  never  said  any- 
thing ;  and  the  devil  and  every  one  else  would  have  let 
him  alone.  But  he  gave  no  uncertain  sound.  I  am 
afraid  some  of  these  compromising  Christians,  if  they 
had  been  there,  would  have  said:  "Now,  Paul;  don't 
be  so  outspoken.  Be  quiet.  Don't  you  think  you  had 
better  go  to  Europe  until  these  riots  are  over — till  this 
excitement  has  died  out?"  Ask  him:  "What  are  you 
going  to  do?"  "Do?  I  do  only  one  thing.  I  press 
toward  the  mark  for  the  prize  of  the  high  calling." 

Look  at  him  again.  He  goes  over  into  Macedonia, 
and  the  first  thing  that  happens,  he  is  cast  into  prison — 
a  dark,  damp  dungeon.  We  would  have  said  that  was 
a  very  strange  Providence— very  singular.  If  we  had 
seen  a  vision  of  a  man  crying,  "Come  over  into  Macedo- 
nia, and  help  us";  and  then  the  first  thing  we  had  got 
into  jail,  with  no  one  to  plead  our  cause — we  would" 
have  begun  to  whine.  But  what  did  Paul  and  Silas  do  ? 
They  sang  praises  to  God.  Queer  place  to  sing  praises 
— with  their  bodies  bleeding  and  their  feet  fast  in  the 
stocks  !  I  suppose  we  would  have  sung,  "  Hark,  from 
the  tombs,"  or  something  of  that  kind.  But  they  sang 
praises,  and  the  prisoners  heard  it,  and  the  place  shook 
with  an  earthquake,  and  there  was  a  great  work  done. 
The  jailer  was  converted,  and  his  family  ;  and  Paul  be- 
came the  first  bishop  in  Europe.  He  got  converts  wlier- 
ever  he  was,  because  he  was  pressing  "toward  the  mark 
for  the  prize  of  the  high  calling.'*     He  pushed  right  on. 


CONSECRATION    AND    CONCENTRATION.  22$ 

That's  what  we  want  to-day  :  men  of  one  idea.  People 
said  he  was  a  narrow-minded  man — a  man  of  one  idea. 
My  friends,  if  you  have  got  one  idea  that  covers  every- 
thing— the  one  idea  of  Christ  crucified — you  can  afford 
to  be  called  fanatical. 

Look  at  the  old  warrior  again.  Look  at  him,  as  he 
takes  up  his  pen  to  write  his  last  letter  to  Timothy,  He 
is  writing  to  a  young  man — like  one  of  these  young 
Harvard  students.  What  does  he  say  ?  ''Well;  the  bat- 
tle is  over.  I  have  finished  my  course.  I  have  kept  my 
faith."  Thank  God,  he  never  broke  away  from  the  old 
moorings.  Young  men,  hold  on  to  the  faith.  I  wouldn't 
give  that  (!)  for  the  men  who  go  into  pulpits  to  preach 
their  doubts.  We  want  to  see  a  man  go  into  tlie  pulpit 
to  preach  what  he  knows — not  what  he  doesn't  know. 
"  I  have  finished  my  course  ;  I  have  kept  the  faith. 
Henceforth  there  is  laid  up  for  me  a  crown."  He's  got 
his  eye  on  the  crown.  I  see  his  face  light  up  as  he 
writes  that  last  letter.  His  warfare  is  over.  No  sign  of 
sorrow  there;  but  great  joy.  He  had  finished  his  course; 
he  had  done  his  work  well  ;  and  he  was  about  to  go. 
The  jailer  orders  him  out  to  be  executed.  I  see  him 
now.  I  can  see  tuat  young  man — for  he  was  still  a 
young  man  ;  he  didn't  live  to  be  very  old.  You  know  I 
consider  myself  a  young  man  yet.  He  was  right  in  his 
prime.  I  see  him  as  he  is  led  along  the  streets  of  Rome. 
Rome  had  some  wonderful  roads.  The  Cssars  had 
trodden  those  streets.  Some  of  the  greatest  warriors  on 
earth  had  trodden  those  streets.  This  little  man  ex- 
celled the  v/hole  of  them.  He  was  a  little  man — a  man 
of  very  meagre  appearance.  He  gets  ready  to  go  like  a 
giant ;  he  is  going  to  get  his  crown  ;  he  is  going  to  see 
his  Master.  I  see  him  shake  hands  with  his  fellow- 
prisoners,  and  then  walk  along  between  the  soldiers. 
"Paul,  ain*t  you  sorry  you  consecrated  your  life  to  God  ? 


226  A  COLLEGE   OF  COLLEGES. 

Ain't  you  sorry  now  that  you  gave  your  whole  life  to  this 
one  thing?  Ain't  you  sorry  ?  "  "Sorry!  Ah,  if  I  had 
ten  thousand  lives,  the  Lord  Jesus  would  get  every  one 
of  them."  I  imagine  I  see  him  at  the  place  of  execution. 
He  bows  his  head,  and  says  :  "  Nero  may  have  my  head, 
but  Nero  can't  get  my  soul."  The  chariots  of  Heaven, 
I  have  no  doubt,  were  waiting.  All  Heaven  was  inter- 
ested in  that  scene.  Earth  didn't  care  much  about  it. 
The  great  generals,  the  wise  men,  the  Senators  of  Rome 
didn't  care  much  about  it.  He  was  only  a  poor  despised 
prisoner.  Ah,  in  j^on  world  of  light  there  was  intense 
interest.  And  as  that  head  comes  off,  you  can  see  that 
spirit  leap  into  one  of  the  chariots  oi  nre,  and  with 
celestial  escort  he  rises.  See  him  as  he  mounts — up — 
up — up.  Look  at  him  as  he  goes  sweeping  through  the 
gates — up — up — up — to  the  very  throne  of  God.  I  hear 
the  bells  there  pealing  forth  their  anthems.  There  is  a 
shout  among  the  saints  of  God.  The  old  warrior  is 
coming  ;  the  hero  of  Philippi,  and  Ephesus,  and  Rome 
is  coming — the  greatest  warrior  that  earth  has  had  since 
Christ  led  captivity  captive.  We  hear  the  words  of 
Christ  as  He  receives  this  great  Apostle  :  "Well  done, 
good  and  faithful  servant ;  enter  thou  into  the  joy  of 
thy  Lord."  You  and  I  may  be  like  that  if  we  are  faith- 
ful. Lay  yourself  on  the  altar.  Say  :  "  Here,  Lord, 
take  me— take  me.  Take  my  tongue,  my  hands,  my 
feet,  my  heart — my  all."  Let  us  consecrate,  and  then  let 
us  concentrate.     God  bless  you  ' 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

A    MIGHTY    WORK   IN    SCOTLAND. 

Prof.  Drummond  Describes  the  Wonderful  Awakening  at  Edinburgh 
University — Its  Origin  and  Immediate  Success — Features  of  the 
Movement — No  Cant— No  Interference  with  Work— Personnel  of 
the  Leaders — No  Interference  with  Amusements  or  with  Theolog- 
ical Speculation — Fruitful  Meetings — Deputations  to  Other  Col- 
leges— The  "  Holiday  Mission  "—Toil  Among  the  Poor — Captur- 
ing the  Boys — Answers  to  Questions. 

I  GLADLY  respond  to  Mr.  Moody's  request  to  state  a 
few  facts  about  the  marvellous  religious  work  which  has 
been  going  on  now  for  three  years  at  the  University  of 
Edinburgh.  No  report  of  this  work  has  ever  appeared 
in  print.  We  have  never  allowed  one  line  to  be  pub- 
lished about  it.  Perhaps  that  was  not  wise.  Some  of 
you  might  think  it  was  carrying  the  thing  a  little  too 
far.  But  we  don't  repent  having  kept  the  work  quiet. 
And  the  reason  was  simply  that  we  felt  it  to  be  such  a 
sacred  thing  that  we  were  afraid  of  losing  the  blessing 
that  was  coming  upon  us.  We  find  that  reports  of  re- 
ligious work  tend  to  cheapen  and  destroy  the  power  and 
delicacy  of  the  work.  And  so  we  have  tried  to  keep  this 
thing,  so  far  as  print  is  concerned,  quiet.  Not,  however, 
that  we  have  not  sought  to  propagate  the  movem.ent  in 
other  ways  which  I  shall  name. 

I  am  anxious  to  tell  you  about  this  movement,  because 
I  hope  that  the  outcome  of  the  Northfield  meetings  this 
year  will  be  a  determined  effort  to  evangelize  the  col- 
leges.    [Amen.]     The  outcome  last   year  was  entirely 

(227) 


228  A   COLLEGE   OF   COLLEGES. 

unexpected  :  a  marvellous  increase  of  interest  in  the 
foreign  field.  God  never  repeats  Himself.  We  cannot 
expect  it  will  be  that  this  year.  May  I  hope  and  pray 
that  the  result  of  this  feeding  and  praying  which 
have  been  prevailing  here  during  these  last  days  may 
be  a  movement  for  the  winning  of  every  man  in  every 
college  in  America  to  the  Cross  of  Christ.  Gentlem.en, 
let  me  say  this  further.  Do  not  postpone  your  useful- 
ness till  you  have  graduated.  That  is  the  tendency — 
for  a  man  to  be  equipping  himself  all  the  time  at  his 
college  for  what  he  thinks  is  the  life-work  that  vv^ill  then 
begin.  Your  life  will  never  pay  you  better  than  while 
you  are  at  college.  There  is  no  such  field  in  the  world 
as  a  college  ;  and  you  can  do  more,  perhaps,  just  now  as 
students  than  you  will  ever  be  able  to  do  in  your  future. 
Therefore,  magnify  your  opportunity  as  a  student.  That 
time  can  never  be  recalled. 

Edinburgh  University  has  4,000  students.  I  suppose 
it  has  the  finest  medical  school  in  the  world  ;  and  if  a 
man  has  a  clever  son  in  any  of  our  colonies  who  wishes 
to  study  medicine,  he  naturally  sends  him  to  Edinburgh. 
The  consequence  is,  the  half  of  those  4,000  are  from  dif- 
ferent parts  of  the  world,  and  they  represent  the  cream 
of  the  young  men  of  the  world.  Until  the  last  three 
years  the  University  was  irreligious,  so  far  as  any  Uni- 
versity expression  of  religion  went.  When  I  was  a  stu- 
dent there,  there  was  a  miserable  prayer-meeting.  I 
never  saw  more  than  some  seven  or  ten  out  of  all  those 
thousands  at  that  prayer-meeting.  And  the  quality  of 
the  men  who  attended  it  was  about  as  miserable  as  the 
quantity.  Three  years  ago  two  Cambridge  students 
going  to  China,  Vv'ell  known  to  the  athletic  set — their 
names  are  also,  I  believe,  known  to  you  :  Mr,  Studd,  one 
of  the  Cambridge  cricketers,  and  Mr.  Stanley  Smith,  one 
of  the  Cambridge  oarsmen  in  the  University  boat-race — 


A   MIGHTY   WORK   IN   SCOTLAND.  229 

asked  the  athletic  men  of  our  Universlt}^  men  to  meet 
their,  that  they  might  bid  them  good-bye.  The  athletic 
men  turned  out  in  great  numbers  ;  and  some  of  the 
Christian  men  in  the  University  sav/  that  the  interest 
which  these  two  men  awakened  in  the  cause  of  missions 
in  the  work  of  Christ,  was  so  great  that  they  considered 
it  worth  while  to  attempt  a  movement  upon  a  larger 
scale.  They  thought  over  the  thing  for  a  month  or  two, 
and  then  took  a  hall  that  held  about  a  thousand  men — 
a  hall  which  was  popular  with  the  students — where  they 
used  to  hold  their  smoking  concerts.  They  announced 
a  meeting  there  on  a  Sunday  night,  and  they  had  the 
hall  crowded  ;  and  that  meeting  v/as  continued  every 
Sunday  night  during  the  remainder  of  the  term.  To- 
wards the  end  of  the  term  the  hail  was  over- filled^  and  a 
great  many  men  had  to  be  turned  away.  The  interest 
deepened  through  the  Vv'hole  of  the  session,  and  culmi- 
nated at  the  end  in  a  communion  service,  the  students 
asking  that  they  might  be  allowed  before  going  to  their 
homes  to  sit  down  together  at  the  sacrament.  We  got 
one  of  the  professors  to  distribute  the  elements,  while 
the  Principal  of  the  University,  Sir  William  ^.luir,  pre- 
sided at  the  meeting. 

Now,  that  is  a  rough  outline  of  the  machinery.  Let 
me  say  something  of  the  lines  on  which  we  carried  on 
this  Sunday-night  meeting.  For  one  thing  we  allowed 
no  cant.  There  is  nothing  a  student  hates  so  much  as 
cant.  By  cant  I  simply  mean  anything  that  is  unnatural, 
false,  falsetto,  untrue  to  experience — anything  that  is 
sentimental  or  sanctimonious — anything  in  the  shape  of 
exaggerated  expression  or  exaggerated  emotion.  That 
was  altogether  disallowed.  The  second  thing  that  we 
discouraged  was  interference  with  work.  We  never  held 
a  meeting  during  the  week.  Sometimes  the  tide  rose 
very  high,  and  then  we  were  compelled  to  have  a  prayer- 


230  A   COLLEGE   OF   COLLEGES. 

meeting — we  couldn't  help  it — but  it  was  against  our 
principles.  A  man  to  get  through  his  examinations 
there  has  very  hard  work  ;  and  we  didn't  wish  it  to  be 
brought  as  a  reproach  against  the  work  that  men  were 
dissipating  in  religious  meetings.  There  was  a  great 
deal  of  prayer,  I  need  not  sa}^  in  the  men's  homes  ;  and 
on  Saturday  nights  there  were  many  houses  open  for 
Bible-readings  and  prayer-meetings.  But  there  was  no 
public  meeting  in  connection  with  this  movement  except 
the  evangelistic  service.  Of  course  it  was  never  called  an 
evangelistic  service.  We  never  called  it  anything  at  all. 
We  just  called  it  a  meeting.  Instead  of  being  discour- 
aged, work  v</as  put  in  the  foremost  place  at  every  m.eet- 
ing ;  and  the  work,  I  believe,  the  first  session  of  these 
meetings,  was  never  better  done,  and  m^ore  men  got 
through  their  examinations  than  if  there  had  been  no 
meeting.  We  never  allov/ed  a  m.an  to  come  near  our 
platform,  or  to  hold  our  programmes,  or  to  hold  our. 
hymn-sheets,  or  take  any  part  whatever,  who  was  not 
entirely  respected  for  his  personal  character  and  manly 
instinct  among  the  students.  [Mr.  Moody — Hear,  hear.] 
There  were  such  men  at  the  University,  and  they  at  once 
came  to  the  front ;  and  they  were  summarily  snubbed, 
and  sent  to  the  back,  and  by-and-by  they  fought  clear 
of  us  altogether — we  got  rid  of  them.  Then,  there  was 
no  interference  with  amusements.  The  best  men  we  had 
were  the  athletic  m.en.  And  we  had  the  pick  of  the  ath- 
letic men  in  connection  with  the  movement — a  great 
many  of  them  on  the  committee.  I  remember  one  little 
meeting  at  v/hlch  out  of  the  University  football  fifteen, 
twelve  were  present,  and  most  of  them  took  a  part  in  the 
meeting.  For  another  thing,  there  was  no  interference 
with  speculation.  We  never  touched  perplexing  ques- 
tions. We  allowed  ever}^  man  to  think  as  he  liked.  We 
respected  honest  doubt  in  every  direction.     Our  creed 


A    >riGnTY   WORK   IN   SCOTLAND.  23 1 

was  ver}^  simple.  We  had  no  creed.  We  had  a  Person. 
We  tried  to  lead  every  man  into  the  fellowship  of  Christ,- 
and  then  let  him  settle  his  doubts  as  he  liked,  or  leave 
them  unsettled.  Our  Gospel  was,  "  Save  your  lives  !  " 
-  -not  so  much  *'  Save  your  souls  !  "  as  "  Save  your 
lives!" — and  the  chief  end  was  to  lead  every  man  to 
become  a  friend  of  Christ,  and  become  an  active  subject 
and  member  of  Christ's  kingdom. 

You  need  not  wonder  that  after  some  months  of  v.'ork 
along  these  lines,  a  certain  amount  of  impression  was 
made  upon  the  best  men  of  the  University.  We  didn't 
do  so  much  for  the  indifferent  men.  We  coveted  for 
Christ's  cause  the  flower  of  the  flock  ;  and  we  got  them. 
Not  ahvays  in  the  public  m.eeting  :  sometimes  by  laying 
sieges  to  them.  A  man  would  fix  his  eye  on  some  one 
who  he  knew  would  be  of  value  in  Christ's  kingdom  ; 
and  he  would  begin  to  wind  his  web  around  him — go  up 
to  him  the  first  time  they  met,  or  go  and  hunt  him  up, 
and  gradually  by  the  impression  of  his  own  character 
and  the  reflection  of  Christ  from  him — by  his  ovv^n  self- 
sacrifice — win  that  man  around  to  our  side.  That 
movement  has  gone  on  for  three  years.  It  has  been 
deepening  in  intensity  all  that  time.  We  don't  knov/ 
where  it  is  going  to  lead.  We  have  had  a  large  inquiry- 
m^eeting  generally  at  the  end  of  every  meeting  ;  and 
sometimes  I  have  seen  as  many  as  a  hundred  men  being 
spoken  to  by  their  fellow-students  about  personal  re- 
ligion. 

With  regard,  now,  to  the  development  and  outcome 
of  this  great  work  :  after  it  had  been  going  on  for  six 
weeks,  our  thoughts  v/ent  out  to  the  sister  universities; 
and  we  packed  off  deputations.  Each  of  those  deputa- 
tions consisted  generally  of  a  professor  and  about  a 
dozen  students.  We  used  to  pick  medicals  generally, 
because,  you  know,  medicals  are  supposed  to  be  a  very 


232  A   COLLEGE   OF   COLLEGES. 

wild  set,  and  if  we  could  get  some  of  them  they  would 
have  great  weight.  If  a  divinity  student  happened  to 
get  into  a  deputation,  he  was  earnestly  charged  to  say 
nothing  about  it,  and  pretend  he  had  never  had  the 
enamel  and  naturalness  and  point  in  speech  taken  off 
him  by  a  theological  seminary.  The  one  disqualifica- 
tion for  going  on  a  deputation  was  eloquence  and  flu- 
ency. If  a  man  could  talk  easily,  he  was  immediately 
dropped.  If  a  man  used  line  phrases  he  was  sent  about 
his  business.  What  v\re  v/anted  was  facts — facts  in 
their  simplest  form  ;  and  we  found  they  had  a  marvel- 
lous effect  upon  the  universities  which  were  visited.  Sc 
this  work  went  on  the  first  year — went  on  in  all  of  them. 
I  would  not  say  it  went  on  in  any  of  them  with  any  very 
great  vigor,  except  in  the  University  of  Edinburgh. 
There  it  has  increased  from  year  to  year. 

At  the  close  of  the  session,  a  great  number  of  men 
were  so  much  in  earnest  about  propagating  this  king- 
dom of  God,  they  made  up  their  minds  that  they  would 
give  up  their  holiday  to  go  am.ongst  the  villages  and 
towns  of  Scotland  and  England  and  Wales,  and  m.eet 
with  the  young  men  of  those  places,  and  tell  them  about 
it.  We  organized  these  men  into  what  we  called  the 
"  Holiday  Mission."  And  I  think  the  first  year  we  had 
loo  or  1 20  volunteers  for  the  work.  We  picked  the  men 
who  were  not  eloquent,  and  sent  them  out  in  deputa- 
tions of  half-a-dozen  ;  and  there  was  no  county  in 
Scotland  which  was  not  visited  by  these  young  men.  It 
was  found  that  the  young  men  of  these  places  would 
come  out  by  thousands.  Unless  under  exceptional  cir» 
cumstances  the  audience  in  any  place  would  contain 
nearly  all  the  j^oung  men  in  it.  The  young  men  would 
turn  out  en  bloc  to  hear  these  medical  students  from  Ed 
inburgh — they  thought  it  was  such  a  marvellous  thing 
to  hear  a  medical  student  who  was  a  religious  man.     A 


A   MIGHTY    WORK   IN   SCOTLAND.  233 

great  many  of  the  men  were  won  to  Christ.  That 
"  Holiday  Mission  "  has  gone  on  ever  since.  It  is  now 
in  full  swing.  All  the  expenses  are  paid  by  the  central 
committee.  The  men  are  furnished  with  hymn-sheets 
printed  with  the  University  mark  upon  them.  Every- 
thing is  done  in  an  academic  way,  to  tempt  the  young 
men  of  the  country  to  come  out ;  and  we  don't  know  at 
all  where  the  movement  is  going  to  end.  It  has  raised 
up  a  great  band  of  speakers  and  workers  who  will  speak 
as  long  as  they  have  tongues. 

Let  me  give  you  one  instance  of  the  work  done  by  the 
"  Holiday  Mission."  There  is  a  college  at  Aberystwith, 
in  Wales,  which  competed  for  a  deputation  also  ;  and 
we  sent  down  five  or  six  men — the  only  men  that  hap- 
pened at  the  moment  to  be  available.  They  arrived  at 
the  college  on  the  day  of  the  annual  spiels  on  the  ath- 
letic field.  Our  young  men  went  in  amongst  them  and 
took  a  conspicuous  part.  Some  of  the  students  at  once 
got  into  conversation  v/ith  them,  and  asked  them  v/hat 
they  were  going  to  do.  Those  Welshmen  thought  it 
was  a  great  idea  that  one  of  the  colleges  in  Wales  should 
be  visited  by  these  Scotchm.en.  Wales,  you  know,  is 
such  a  religious  country,  and  they  thought  they  knew 
all  about  it — would  have  nothing  to  do  with  these  young 
men.  That  night  there  was  going  to  be  a  social  meet- 
ing in  connection  with  the  sports.  These  men  attended 
the  meeting,  and  out  of  courtesy  they  were  asked  to 
assist  in  the  entertainment.  One  of  them  sang  a  song 
/n  capital  style.  Another  made  a  speech.  Said  he  :  "  If 
you  like,  I  will  propose  the  toast  to  the  ladies";  and 
v.hen  the  tim.e  came,  he  proposed  the  toast  in  a  humor- 
ous speech.  The  Welshmen  thought  they  were  capital 
fellovv^s  ;  tliey  saw  a  novel  type  of  Christian  ;  and  they 
determined  to  come  out  and  hear  them.  Next  night 
they  turned   cut  en  masse.     In  three  or  four  days  there 


234  A   COLLEGE   OF   COLLEGES. 

was  not  a  man — not  one  man — who  was  not  more  or 
less  concerned  about  his  spiritual  condition.  After  they 
had  been  there  about  a  week,  they  had  to  go  home 
about  their  work  ;  but  the  Welshmen  gathered  around 
them  and  said  :  "  Now,  you  can't  leave  us.  Here  are 
the  wounded  lying  around  on  every  side,  and  you  must 
do  something  to  help  us.  You  have  helped  to  produce 
this,  and  you  must  do  something  more."  Well  ;  the 
Edinburgh  men  consulted  amongst  themselves,  and 
they  agreed  that  they  should  leave  one  of  their  number 
there — that  he  should  become  a  student  of  that  college. 
He  took  lodgings  there,  and  worked  personally  among 
the  men  for  at  least  two  months — the  remainder  of  the 
term  ;  took  rooms  amongst  the  students,  and  lived 
for  them,  had  them  up  to  his  rooms  night  and  day,  and 
led  them  to  have  meetings.  Then  he  headed  them  out 
in  deputation  work  to  the  other  colleges  of  Wales,  and 
so  spread  the  fire  throughout  the  country. 

Another  thing,  that  was  not  an  immediate  outcome  of 
this  work,  but  has  been  greatly  stimulated  by  it,  is  the 
work  in  the  hospitals  and  infirmaries  in  Edinburgh  it- 
self. Every  Sunday  morning  when  you  go  to  the  Royal 
Infirmary  at  Edinburgh,  you  will  see  a  hundred  students 
at  least,  gathered  in  an  amphitheatre  for  a  prayer-meet- 
ing. After  the  prayer-meeting  they  go  back  to  the  wards, 
two  by  two,  and  have  evangelistic  services.  These  men 
are  known  to  the  patients  through  the  week  in  their 
medical  studies,  and  when  they  come  to  talk  with  them 
on  religious  subjects  their  visits  are  welcomed  and  ap- 
preciated. There  are,  I  think,  a  hundred  men  in  the 
Royal  Infirmary  alone  engaged  in  that  work  every  Sun- 
day. Then  there  are  other  men  who  do  the  same  thing 
at  the  Fever  Hospital,  and  in  all  the  hospitals  in  Edin- 
burgh.    Medical  students  conduct  all  these  services. 

1  hen,  a  few  men  have  gone  out  to  work  amongst  the 


A   MIGHTY   WORK    IX   SCOTLAND.  235 

poor.  They  have  taken  a  building  in  one  of  the  worst 
streets  in  the  lowest  neighborhood  in  Edinburgh  ;  and 
they  have,  so  to  speak,  camped  there  in  order  that  they 
may  exert  an  influence  for  good  on  the  locality.  That 
*'  University  settlement,"  as  it  is  called,  has  only  been 
in  operation  about  eight  months,  but  the  result  has  al- 
ready been  beyond  our  farthest  expectation.  Some  of 
our  best  men  have  gone  to  live  there — medicals.  They 
have  helped  the  people— taught  them  in  night  schools, 
preached  to  them,  and  influenced  them  more  espe- 
cially by  their  own  lives,  and  by  visiting  them  in  their 
homes.  It  is  another  aspect  of  the  work,  which  we  ex- 
pect to  find  developing  itself  amongst  the  poor  during 
the  next  year. 

Mr.  Moody— That  is  taking  a  holiday  !  Do  these  men 
keep  up  with  their  studies  ? 

Prof.  Drummond — Yes.  This  goes  on  all  the  year.  I 
think  I  will  trouble  you  by  naming  an  interesting  move- 
ment which  we  instituted  to  get  hold  of  the  boys  in 
Edinburgh.  Edinburgh  is  a  great  educational  centre  ; 
and  there  are  thousands  and  thousands  of  boys  sent 
there  from  all  parts  of  the  country  for  their  education. 
Now,  the  key  to  a  boy's  heart  is  athletics  ;  and  we  picked 
the  men  who  were  heroes  in  the  eyes  of  those  boys  for 
their  superiority  in  the  athletic  field.  We  invited  the 
boys  of  the  great  schools  to  com.e  and  meet  those  stu- 
dents on  Saturday  afternoons  at  3  o'clock.  Som.e  of 
the  head-masters  entered  into  this  scheme,  and  we  had 
our  hall  filled,  or  nearly  so.  We  had  five  or  six  hundred 
boys.  It  was  just  meant  to  try  a  meeting  or  two  foi  an 
experiment ;  but  the  thing  went  on  successfully,  so  that 
the  meeting  was  kept  up  during  the  whole  term.  That 
meeting  has  become  an  institution.  I  am  quite  con- 
vinced that  a  great  many  of  those  boys  have  been  got 
hold  of.     And  I  hope  the  students  here  will  talk  to  the 


236  A   COLLEGE   OF   COLLEGES. 

boys.  It  is  the  age  of  impression — during  tl  air  boyhood, 
and  you  can  do  a  good  deal  of  work  among  them  apart 
from  your  university  work  altogether.  We  influenced 
those  boys  in  the  direction  of  muscular  Christianity.        \ 

I  have  told  you  these  facts.  I  leave  them  to  speak  for 
themselves.  If  there  are  any  questions  about  further 
work  on  our  methods,  I  would  be  glad  to  answer  them. 

Mr.  Moody — I  would  like  to  know  whom  you  mean  by 
"  we  "  ?  Who  comes  down  and  helps  you  at  the  Sunday- 
night  meeting.?     A.  Well  ;  if  possible  we  get  one  man. 

Mr.  Moody — Who  is  "  we  "  ?  A.  Nobody  knows  who 
runs  this  work.  We  have  no  college  association.  That 
is  where  we  differ  from  you.  Some  of  us  know  that 
there  is  a  mysterious  committee  that  corresponds 
to  your  vigilance  committee  out  West,  which  keeps  its 
eye  on  the  whole  University  ;  but  nobody  knows  who 
belongs  to  it.  The  reason  why  we  have  formed  no  asso- 
ciation is  this  :  The  moment  an  organization  is  formed 
there  is  a  fence  thrown  up.  The  men  say  :  "  We  either 
belong  to  that  or  we  don't";  and  sometimes  they  don't 
quite  like  the  quality  of  the  men  who  are  interested,  or 
some  little  objection  arises  to  the  association  and  they 
fight  shy  of  it.  So  meantime  we  have  left  the  whole 
thing  amorphous. 

Mr.  Moody — Who  do  you  get  to  preach  ?  A.  We  get 
some  man  whom  the  students  will  take  to.  We  have 
tried  several  men.  When  we  have  found  that  a  man  is 
successful  we  keep  him. 

Mr.  Moody — Are  they  ministers?  A.  Not  as  a  rule. 
If  we  get  one  man  who  will  take  the  meeting  for  three 
mrmths,  that  is  what  we  like  best.  If  we  could  we  would 
get  Mr.  Moody,  or  Mr.  Cook,  or  some  one  that  is 
known. 

Q.  What  special  training  do  these  men  have  for  per- 
sonal work  ?     A.  Their  personal  knowledge  of  Chrisc. 


A  MIGHTY   WORK   IN   SCOTLAND.  237 

O.  And  a  knowledge  of  the  Scriptures  ?  A.  They 
don't  attempt  in  the  first  instance  to  lead  men  to  Scrip- 
ture. They  attempt  to  lead  them  to  Christ.  They  have 
Bible  readings  all  summer  in  their  rooms,  and  generally 
once  a  week  in  some  of  their  houses,  where  they  study 
the  Bible  and  learn  how  to  deal  with  inquirers.  But 
their  great  endeavor  is  not  so  much  to  present  even  the 
Bible  to  men  as  to  bring  them  into  personal  relations 
with  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.* 

Mr.  Moody — When  these  men  get  all  fired  up  and  en- 
thused, how  do  they  keep  up  with  their  studies  ?  A. 
They  make  study  a  part  of  their  religion. 

Mr.  Moody — But  are  they  not  carried  away  very  often  ? 
A.  Well,  that  is  simply  an  enormous  temptation.  The 
strain  is  tremendous  to  carry  on  this  work  and  keep  up 
with  their  studies  ;  but  they  do  it.  There  was  not  a 
man  among  them  "plucked"  at  the  examinations  last 
j^ear. 

Dr.  Pierson — I  would  like  to  know  how  the  vigilance 
committee  cuts  off  the  heads  of  those  canting  fellows. 
How  do  you  get  rid  of  those  who  bore  your  meetings  ? 
A.  I  don't  know  how  it  is  done.  It  is  all  secret.  It  is 
done. — The  vigilance  committee  never  tells  its  secrets  to 
an  outsider. 

O.  What  is  the  mode  of  conduct  of  those  large  meet- 
ings ?  A.  Singing  ;  reading  ;  prayer  ;  singing  ;  evan- 
gelistic address  ;  inquiry-meeting. 

Q.  Is  the  prayer  by  anybody  ?  A.  Sometimes  we  have 
a  professor  in  the  chair.  Sometimes  we  have  the  Prin- 
cipal in  the  chair.  But  we  don't  care  in  the  least  for 
dignitaries.  We  don't  want  patronage  of  any  kind — 
don't  ask  anybody  to  come.     We  just  take  who  is  there. 


*  It  will  be  remembered  that  in  Scotland  young  men  are  presumed 
to  be  thoroughly  familiar  with  the  letter  of  Scripture. — Ed. 


23S  A   COLLEGE    OF   COLLEGES. 

Q.  Where  docs  the  money  for  the  expenses  come 
from  ?  A.  I  am  sure  I  don't  know  in  the  least.  It  is  as 
mysterious  as  anything  else. 

Q.  Do  you  hold  an  after-meeting  ?     A.  Yes. 

O,  How  is  it  conducted?  A.  The  second  meeting  is 
very  informally  announced.  We  say  :  "  The  night  i=3  early, 
and  there  will  be  a  half-hour  or  an  hour  of  free  talk  " — 
and  that  the  men  are  invited  to  gathe-r  in  knots  all  over 
the  room  and  just  talk  over  these  things  a  little.  Three 
or  four  men  have  their  eye  generally  on  a  man,  and 
they  inveigle  him  to  talk.  The  hall  is  kept  open  an 
hour  or  so,  and  by  the  end  of  that  time  a  good  deal  of 
business  has  been  done.  There  is  a  great  deal  done  on 
the  street.  As  a  man  goes  away  from  the  meeting  some- 
body walks  with  him  to  his  lodgings.     That  is  how. 

Mr.  Moody — Having  desi.gns  on  him  ?  A.  Having  de- 
signs on  him. 

Q.  Can  you  say  what  proportion  of  those  4,000  men 
have  become  Christians  ?  A.  I  have  no  idea.  I  will  say 
this,  however,  that  scarcely  a  man  has  gone  back.  The 
work  has  been  the  most  thoroughgoing  of  any  work  I 
have  ever  seen. 

Q.  Have  a  large  number  confidently  confessed  Christ  ? 
A.  Hundreds  and  hundreds.  Hundreds  and  hundreds. 
The  tone  of  the  University  is  entirely  changed. 

Q.  Do  they  unite  with  churches  ?  A.  Oh,  yes.  They 
are  entirely  friendly  with  the  churches,  and  the  churches 
are  friendly  with  them. 

Q.  Does  the  whole  faculty  show  any  sympathy  with 
that  meeting?  A.  Some  of  the  most  influential  men 
have  been  in  it  a  great  deal.  I  fancy  some  of  the  faculty 
don't  know  it  is  there.  We  don't  want  men  who  are 
not  walking  with  God  to  patronize  us.  We  don't  v/ant 
names,  and  so  we  have  said  nothing  about  it.  We  look 
upon  it  as  a  spiritual  movement  all  through. 


CHAPTER    XX. 

MR.  Moody's  question-drawer. 

\^j»rious  Queries  Answered  by  the  Evangelist  and  Others — Importance 
of  the  Work  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association — How  to 
Brighten  Praj-er-Meetings  and  Evangelistic  Services — Abolishing 
Cant — Plain  Dealing  with  Unworthy  Men — Power  for  Service — The 
Foreign  Field — Light  Elicited  on  Numerous  Practical  Points. 

Q.  You  say  the  Church  needs  to  be  raised  into  a 
higher  plane,  and  that  it  is  better  to  do  this  than  to 
make  converts.  Isn't  the  way  to  lift  the  Church  up,  to 
get  converts  into  the  Church  ?  A.  V/ell ;  I  don't  see 
that  the  Church  is  lifted  into  a  higher  plane,  I  am  sorry 
to  say.  That  is  the  trouble — the  standard  is  too  Iova;  ; 
and  if  we  could  have  a  sifting  in  our  churches  I  think 
those  who  were  left  would  be  more  powerful  than  the 
whole  of  them.  A  man  said  once  he  had  had  a  great 
revival  in  his  church.  He  was  asked  :  "  How  man}^  have 
you  taken  in  ? "  Said  he  :  "  We  haven't  taken  in  any. 
We  have  put  150  out." 

O.  Ought  a  Christian  to  take  any  part  in  politics,  such 
as  voting,  etc.  ?  A.  I  think  it  would  be  hypocrisy  for 
me  to  pray  if  I  didn't  do  what  I  could  to  purify  the  poli- 
tics of  a  town  like  this.  We  had  an  election  here  last 
spring,  and  if  I  had  been  at  home  I  think  I  would  have 
had  something  to  do  in  it.  The  question  came  up  :  whis- 
key or  not  ?  The  State  gave  us  permission  to  vote  on 
that  issue.  If  I  am  too  sanctimonious  and  too  religious 
to  go  out  and  help  to  vote  whiskey  out  of  the  town,  I 
am  the  last  man  to  pray  God  to  keep  men  from  tempta* 
tion,  ain't  I  ?     [Applause.] 

(239) 


240  A   COLLEGE   OF  COLLEGES. 

Q.  Do  you  think  the  secretaryship  of  the  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association  has  claims  upon  college  men  ?  A. 
What  we  want,  it  seems  to  me,  is  a  class  of  young  men 
that  have  been  trained  in  our  colleges  to  go  into  our  asso- 
ciations and  reach  a  different  class  of  men  from  what  we 
hai'e  been  reaching.  There  is  no  place  where  a  young 
man  can  accomplish  more  in  a  city  to-day  than  to  go 
among  young  men.  In  some  of  these  large  cities  they 
have  got  a  hundred  thousand — five  hundred  thousand — 
young  men  ;  and  it  seems  to  me  there  is  no  field  where 
a  young  man  can  be  more  useful  than  in  these  associa- 
tions, because  he  can  work  365  days  in  the  year.  If  a 
man  takes  a  church  he  can  only  get  an  audience  once 
or  twice  a  week  ;  but  a  live  secretary  in  one  of  these  asso- 
ciations can  get  an  audience  as  often  as  he  wants  it. 
And  if  he  has  got  the  gifts  he  will  soon  gather  around 
him  a  nucleus  of  young  men,  and  with  that  body  of 
young  men  he  can  carry  the  Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ  into 
any  part  of  the  city.  I  think  it  is  a  good  training  for 
the  ministry.  Some  are  afraid  there  will  be  a  time  when 
they  won't  be  wanted  in  the  association — they  will  grow 
away  from  the  young  men.  But  if  a  man  can  keep  young, 
there  is  no  trouble  about  getting  hold  of  young  men. 
I've  seen  young  men  at  seventy. 

Q.  How  would  you  advise  a  young  Christian  who  is 
in  difficulty  as  to  what  church  he  ought  to  join  ?  A. 
Well  ;  I  want  to  say  right  here,  if  you  take  my  advice 
you  will  get  into  the  church  where  you  will  get  the 
most  good  and  do  the  most  good.  The  sectarian  walls 
are  getting  very  thin.  I  couldn't  have  twenty  years  ago 
such  a  meeting  as  this.  The  different  denominations 
w^ould  be  afraid  their  young  men  would  be  carried  away 
from  them.  But  I  haven't  seen  a  Baptist  or  a  Methodist 
or  a  Congregationalist  or  an  Episcopalian  since  I  have 
been   in   these  meetings.     I  don't  know  what  you  are. 


MR.    MOODY  S   QUESTION-DRAWER.  24I 

They  used  to  have  hardly  condescension  enough  to  get 
into  a  union  meeting.  A  man  used  to  say,  "  I  am  a 
Methodist,"  or,  "  I  want  you  to  understand  that  I  have 
condescension  enough  to  come  on  this  platform  although 
I  am  a  Baptist."  Thank  God  we  have  got  beyond  that. 
We  used  to  have  to  climb  a  ladder,  and  stretch  and  peek 
over  the  walls  to  see  how  the  Methodists  were  getting 
on  over  there  in  their  little  corner.  We  have  got  over 
that.  I  don't  know  where  they  have  gone.  When  I  get 
home  I  won't  see  any  Baptists  or  Methodists.  All  swal- 
lowed up  in  Christ !     That  is  what  we  want. 

Q.  What  preparation  would  you  advise  a  young  man 
to  have  who  expects  to  become  a  Y.  M.  C.  A.  secretary? 
A.  Mr.  Bowne,  you  have  a  school  to  prepare  these  men. 
What  kind  of  training  do  they  get  dovvm  there  ?  [Mr. 
Bowne  explained  the  operations  of  the  School  for  Chris- 
tian Workers  at  Springfield]  Mr.  Moody — I  want  to 
say  that  I  think  a  young  man  going  into  that  office  ought 
to  get  posted  up  in  about  tvv'elve  of  the  great  doctrines 
of  the  Bible,  at  least — such  as  Justification,  Atonem.ent, 
Redemption,  Assurance,  Faith,  etc. — and  give  some  time 
to  it.  Then,  of  course,  he  wants  a  practical  training, 
and  a  very  good  way  to  get  it  is  to  go  into  an  asso- 
ciation v/here  they  have  got  a  live  secretary,  and  learn 
from  him. 

O.  How  does  the  work  of  the  secretaryship  differ  from 
the  ministry?  A.  You  keep  at  it  all  the  time.  No  church 
I  know  of  would  stand  as  much  preaching  as  I  would 
want  to  give  them.  When  I  am  in  the  harness  I  would 
like  to  speak  two  or  three  times  a  day.  A  secretary  can 
have  all  the  work  he  wants  from  morning  to  night — 
personal  work,  and  deeply  spiritual  work. 

Q.  Can  a  young  man  expect  a  life-work  in  the  secre- 
taryship ?  A.  Well,  my  friend,  Mr.  McBurney,  and  my 
friend  here,  Mr.  Morse,  are  more  useful  than  ever.  The 
II 


242  A   COLLEGE   OF  COLLEGES. 

work  has  taken  on  an  institutional  character  during  ;he 
last  ten  years,  and  we  need  mature  talent  and  age,  as 
well  as  youth,  in  the  administration  of  all  that  belongs 
to  the  best  interests  of  the  Association.  Mr.  McBurney, 
what  do  you  say  ?  Mr.  McBurney — If  a  man  has  a  young 
heart,  the  older  he  grows,  the  younger  his  heart  will  be- 
come, and  the  more  sympathetic  and  wise  will  he  be  in 
dealing  with  young  men.  I  know  of  no  profession  or 
line  of  business  in  which  men  of  youthful  temperament 
who  are  fitted  as  young  men  for  secretaries  of  associa- 
tions, and  also  fitted  as  they  grow  older  for  wider  use- 
fulness, can  be  of  such  service  in  the  cause  of  Christ. 
Mr.  Moody — Is  it  a  delightful  work  ?  Mr.  McBurney — 
Yes  ;  there  is  no  work  on  the  earth  equal  to  it.  Mr. 
Moody — You  like  it  ?  Mr.  McBurney — I  like  it  more 
and  more  as  I  grow  older  and  see  its  increased  useful- 
ness and  breadth — how  it  touches  every  line  of  Christian 
activity  in  any  city  where  it  exists.  It  is  a  grand  oppor- 
tunity— an  open  field  ;  not  circumscribed  by  denomina- 
tional boundaries,  but  reaching  as  far  as  the  Spirit  of 
God  will  lead  us. 

Q.  Whenever  the  Church  has  been  mentioned  in  this 
convention  it  has  always  been  in  the  way  of  criticism. 
What  is  the  reason  ?  A.  I  haven't  noticed  it.  If  I  know 
my  own  heart  I  love  the  Church  more  than  anything 
else  on  this  earth.  I  believe  it  is  the  dearest  thing  on 
this  earth  to  the  heart  of  my  Master.  And  if  there  has 
been  any  criticism  here  it  has  been  from  its  friends,  and 
out  of  love.  We  are  here  as  Christians,  to  see  how  we 
can  improve  the  Church  of  God,  and  the  way  to  make  it 
stronger  and  better  in  our  day.  We  are  inside  the 
Church,  and  trying  to  lift  it  up.  "  Faithful  are  the 
wounds  of  a  friend."  At  the  same  time,  why  do  we  want 
an  uplift  in  the  Church  of  God  ?  You  know  very  well 
it  doesn't  mean  very  much  to  be  a  Christian.     Suppose 


MR.   MOODY  S   QUESTION-DRAWER.  243 

a  man  comes  to  me  and  has  got  letters  that  he  belongs 
to  a  certain  church — he  has  been  a  member  of  tl.  .it 
church  for  five  years — and  he  wants  me  to  lend  him 
mone3%  Suppose  I  am  a  capitalist — I  have  money  to 
lend — and  he  wants  me  to  start  him  in  business.  Would 
it  have  much  weight  with  me  that  he  was  a  church 
member  ?  How  far  would  it  go  ?  It  ought  to  go  a  great 
way.  Suppose  a  man  starts  off  down  here  to  Boston  to 
buy  some  goods,  and  he  takes  down  his  church-letter ; 
he  says  to  the  merchants  of  Boston  he  is  a  member  of 
the  Congregational  church,  or  the  Methodist  church,  or 
the  Baptist  church  ;  how  far  would  it  go  ?  Ah,  my 
friends,  it  makes  me  hide  my  head  sometimes  when  I 
think  how  little  it  means  for  a  man  to  take  these  vows 
upon  him.  I  think  it  means  a  great  deal  to  take  the 
name  of  Christ,  and  it  ought  to  mean  to  the  world  a 
thousand  times  more  than  it  does. 

Q.  Does  Scripture  teach  that  it  is  possible  for  a  man 
to  live  without  sin  ?  A.  I  think  Scripture  teaches  that 
we  are  to  aim  for  perfection.  That  is  our  aim.  But  if 
a  man  thinks  he  has  got  there,  he  has  got  nothing  to 
aim  for,  has  he  ?  I  heard  a  man  saying  that  for  twenty 
years  he  hadn't  heard  a  whisper  from  the  devil.  I  am 
afraid  the  devil  had  whispered  to  him  a  good  many 
times  and  he  didn't  know  it.  I  think  the  devil  whis- 
pered that  into  his  mind. 

Q.  Is  it  Scriptural  to  teach  that  the  flesh  is  dead,  and 
that  there  is  no  temptation  from  within — it  is  all  from 
without  ?  A.  Paul  says  you  are  to  reckon  yourself  dead. 
If  you  were  dead  you  wouldn't  reckon  )^ourself  dead — 
you  would  drop  out  of  the  reckoning  entirely.  If  you 
claim  to  be  dead  you  don't  know  the  depth  of  your  own 
heart.  The  heart  is  deceitful  above  all  things.  It  is 
carnally-minded.  When  a  man  thinks  he  is  dead,  the 
chances  are  some  temptation  will   come,  and    he  will 


244  A  COLLEGE   OF  COLLEGES. 

yield  to  it,  and  find  he  is  alive.  We  are  to  watch  as 
well  as  pray.  I  have  had  more  trouble  with  D.  L. 
Moody  than  with  any  other  man  that  has  ever  crossed 
my  path.  I  think  it  is  a  battle.  I  don't  think  the  flesh 
is  dead.  I  am  to  reckon  him  dead,  and  keep  him  where 
he  belongs. 

Q.  How  much  time  should  an  Association  man  give 
to  reading  Sunday  newspapers  ?  A.  Not  more  than  one 
second  in  a  hundred  years.     [Great  applause.] 

Q.  How  can  an  Association  best  impress  the  import- 
ance of  total  abstinence  upon  young  men  ?  A.  By  not 
touching  it  yourself — by  example.  Of  course,  give  no 
uncertain  sound.  Let  people  know  that  you  are  teeto- 
talers by  your  walk  and  conversation,  and  by  your  life. 
Not  only  that,  but  just  let  these  young  men  understand 
that  in  this  country  we  don't  need  stimulants.  We  have 
got  all  we  want  in  the  air — we've  got  such  a  wonderful 
climate.  I  am  so  rejoiced  we  have  had  you  young  men 
here  for  eleven  days,  and,  to  say  nothing  about  whiskey, 
I  haven't  smelt  tobacco.  I  don't  believe  in  any  stimu- 
lants. We  have  got  enough  stimulus  in  the  very  atmos- 
phere about  us,  and  it  is  a  false  idea  that  men  have  that 
they  need  it. 

O.  Ought  a  young  man  who  is  not  much  of  a  speaker 
to  become  a  Y.  M.  C.  A.  secretary?  A.  I  think  they 
make  the  best.  I  think  I  would  make  a  very  poor  one. 
I  like  to  preach.  I  don't  like  to  get  down  to  detail. 
These  men  that  have  got  no  gift  for  preaching  make  the 
Very  best  secretaries. 

O.  How  can  we  best  learn  how  to  do  personal  work 
among  young  men  ?  A.  Jump  in  and  try  it.  It  is  like 
learning  to  swim  :  the  only  way  is  to  leap  in  and  go  at 
it.  That  is  the  way  to  do  :  go  at  it.  You  will  make 
mistakes  enough  to  keep  you  humble. 

Q.  What  methods  of  Bible  study  would  you  suggest 


MR.    MOODY  S   QUESTION-DRAWER.  245 

to  a  young  man  to  fit  him  for  the  place  of  a  secretary  ? 
A.  I  would  take  up  the  great  fundamentals  first.  Take 
up  Regeneration,  Repentance,  the  Atonement,  and  all 
those  great  doctrines.  Take  up  the  Bible  topically,  with 
a  Concordance.  Every  young  man  ought  to  have  a  Zon- 
cordance.  I  believe  Alexander  Cruden  did  more  to  open 
up  the  Bible  than  he  could  ever  have  dreamed.  For 
years  I  didn't  know  there  was  such  a  book.  I  would 
hunt  for  hours  to  hunt  up  some  passage.  It  was  very 
humiliating  to  have  some  one  say,  "  There  is  no  such 
passage  in  the  Bible";  and  I  would  hunt  and  hunt,  and 
couldn't  find  it,  although  I  knew  it  was  there.  Every 
young  man  ought  to  have  a  good  Concordance,  and 
study  the  Bible  topically  In  som.e  of  the  associations 
they  have  got  training-classes,  which  are  very  helpful. 
Very  often  you  will  learn  more  than  you  teach. 

Q.  How  can  Vv^e  best  secure  the  attendance  of  young 
men  at  association  meetings  ?  A.  I  don't  know  any  bet- 
ter way  than  to  get  them  interested.  Then,  make  the 
young  men  feel  that  you  care  for  them.  I  think  there 
is  no  trouble  about  reaching  out  when  they  get  the  idea 
that  you  want  them.  There  is  an  idea  among  them  that 
Christian  people  don't  care  for  them — that  we  are  on  a 
higher  platform  than  they  are — that  we  censure  them 
because  they  are  sinners.  When  you  get  them  into  the 
Bible-class,  don't  put  difficult  questions  to  them  and 
make  them  feel  uncomfortable.  Sometimes  in  church 
work,  you  v«rill  find  a  great  man)?-  young  men  will  stand 
around  the  door  or  the  horse-sheds,  and  you  can't  get 
them  in.  Why  ?  They  are  afraid  you  will  poke  ques- 
tions at  them  that  they  can't  answer.  They  would  be 
mortified,  and  they  don't  want  to  expose  their  ignorance. 
B-.it  get  them  together  ;  and  get  them  there  a  second 
time.  I  would  have  the  class  so  arranged  as  not  to  put 
any  questions  at  fin;t.     Get  their  confidence.     Put  an 


246  A   COLLEGE   OF  COLLEGES. 

easy  one  at  first,  so  they  will  answer  it.  In  that  way 
they  will  be  drawn  out.  It  takes  a  good  deal  of  tact. 
Unconverted  men  can  be  reached  if  we  will  go  for  them 
personally.  There  isn't  a  young  man  that  won't  have 
half-a-dozen  personal  friends  that  he  has  got  some  in- 
fluence over.  He  is  the  one  to  get  them  there.  Mr. 
Oatts,  how  do  you  get  hold  of  young  men  in  Glasgow  ? 
Mr.  Oatts — I  am  sorry  to  say  the  young  men  who 
don't  go  to  church  are  a  very  large  proportion  of  our 
population.  Out  of  100,000  young  men  I  am  safe  in 
saying  that  70,000  are  quite  outside  the  Church  of 
Christ.  We  want  to  win  these  young  men.  We  have 
our  reading-rooms,  which  are  free.  We  have  our  edu- 
cational classes,  and  seek  to  draw  them  in  this  way. 
But  the  one  means  we  have  found  most  successful  is  our 
evangelistic  meetings  and  our  Bible-classes.  The  young 
fellows  are  walking  about  the  streets  on  the  Sabbath 
day  by  thousands.  They  Avon't  come  to  our  meetings, 
and  so  we  have  got  to  go  to  them.  We  have  open-air 
meetings.  About  twenty  of  these  are  held  every  Sunday. 
The  young  men  are  attracted  by  the  singing,  and  we  are 
glad  to  get  hold  of  them.  Hundreds  of  them  have  thus 
been  brought  to  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  brought 
into  the  association.  I  would  just  like  to  say  that  our 
work  is  in  no  way  opposed  to  the  work  of  the  Church. 
We  feel  that  we  are  the  Church's  best  helper.  I  was 
standing  at  the  desk  of  the  New  York  Association  a 
fortnight  ago  and  a  young  fellow  came  in  from  Scot- 
land. The  very  first  question  asked  him  was:  "What 
church  have  you  gone  to  ? "  We  want  to  get  these 
young  men  connected  with  the  Church  of  Christ  on 
earth.  [Mr.  Oatts  here  gave  an  account  of  one  result 
of  the  work  of  Messrs.  Moody  and  Sankey  in  Glasgow  : 
the  "  Mizpah  Band,"  consisting  of  five  or  six  hundred 
young  men  who  spent  their  spare  hours  in  learning  to 


MR.   MOODY  S   QUESTION-DRAWER.  247 

sing,  lest  they  should  relapse  into  intemperance.  Not 
more  than  three  per  cent,  a  year  had  gone  back  to  drink.] 

Q.  Sunday  desecration  among  young  men — how  can 
associations  best  counteract  it?  A.  I  would  say,  I  don't 
think  there  is  anything  that  will  hold  young  men  to- 
gether but  the  Gospel,  and  the  preaching  of  Jesus  Christ. 
Have  live  singing.  Have  the  services  short.  After  the 
service  breaks  up  have  a  social  time — in  shaking  hands, 
or  an  inquiry-meeting.  There  is  no  po^.ver  like  the 
power  of  the  Holy  Ghost  to  hold  people  together.  Peo- 
ple hear  about  it,  and  come  into  the  meetings,  and  j^ou 
can  have  conversions  all  the  while.  I  think  it  is  a  great 
mistake  that  our  halls  in  all  our  great  cities  are  not  kept 
open.  Let  us  have  meetings  in  all  these  halls,  and  let 
us  do  anything  to  draw  the  young  men  there.  We  have 
got  to  have  more  life  put  into  the  church  services.  I 
think  it  would  be  a  good  thing  to  have  young  men 
speak  now  and  then.  Let  them  be  drawn  into  the  meet- 
ing to  work.  A  young  man  takes  a  hundred  times  more 
interest  in  a  meeting  that  he  takes  a  part  in.  Then  we 
ought  to  have  good  singing.  I  think  it  would  pay  our 
leading  associations  to  hire  good  musicians  if  they  had 
to  pay  them  $3,000  or  §4,000  a  j^ear,  to  lift  up  the  sing- 
ing. A  good  leader  will  soon  get  young  men  with  good 
voices  around  him,  and  out  of  these  you  can  have  a 
male  choir.  Mr.  Tovv'ner,  how  are  you  going  to  tone  up 
the  singing? 

Mr.  Towner — It  seems  to  me  there  will  be  no  great 
difficulty  in  having  first-class  music  in  an  association  or 
in  a  college  under  a  thoroughly  competent  leader.  Of 
course  he  must  be  a  Christian  man.  In  many  an  asso- 
ciation the  music  has  been  in  the  hands  of  not  a  very 
skilful  man — some  man  they  could  get  cheap  ;  and  the 
consequence  is  that  the  very  men  you  want  to  sing — the 
men  that  have  had  seme  musical  advantages  and  know 


248  A   COLLEGE   OF   COLLEGES. 

about  these  things— find  there  is  nothing  there  for  them 
to  get,  and  after  a  while  you  can't  get  anybody  to  come. 
I  think  as  a  rule  we  don't  appreciate  the  power  of  Gos- 
pel song.  It  would  be  impossible  for  me  to  cite  an  in- 
stance where  the  music  had  been  for  any  length  of  time 
in  the  hands  of  a  thoroughly  comipetent  leader  and  had 
failed.  I  wouldn't  recommend  engaging  an  unconverted 
man,  but  5^ou  can  find  enough  Christians  who  are  thor- 
ough musicians.  A  choir-leader  shouldn't  be  too  fond 
of  singing  solos.  It  is  a  great  deal  better  if  he  can  get 
hundreds  to  sing  than  to  sing  very  much  himself.  At 
the  same  time  he  must  be  a  good  singer.  People  learn 
to  sing  by  example. 

Mr.  H.  L.  Hastings — In  Stratford,  England,  they  are 
doing  a  great  w^ork  outdoors  and  indoors.  That  work 
grew  out  of  the  meetings  that  Messrs.  Moody  and  Sankey 
held  there.  I  was  there  a  few  weeks  ago.  They  sang 
splendidly  at  their  outdoor  meetings.  I  was  to  lecture 
on  infidelity  ;  and  while  I  was  going  to  the  place  I  found 
them  holding  an  open-air  meeting.  I  got  two  or  three 
tickets  to  get  into  the  lecture  m^^self  before  I  got  there. 
They  were  on  the  watch  for  every  man  that  came  along. 
They  would  gather  the  people  by  singing  and  preaching 
outdoors,  and  then  fish  them  into  the  congregation. 

Mr.  Moody — Some  people  want  very  high-toned  music. 
I  have  been  in  many  a  pulpit  before  now  and  heard  the 
choir  sing,  and  for  the  life  of  me  I  couldn't  tell  what 
they  were  singing,  although  I  gave  out  the  hymn.  Now, 
I  believe  it  is  just  as  much  an  abomination  to  sing  in  an 
unknown  tongue  as  it  is  to  preach  in  one  ;  and  what  we 
want  is  to  sing  the  music  people  can  understand,  and 
sing  the  w^ords  so  distinctly  that  they  will  know  what 
you  are  singing  about.  There's  about  one  in  ten,  or  one 
in  fifty,  who  like  this  high-toned  music — so  high  that  it 
never  conies  down  to  the  common  class  of  people  ;  like 


MR.    MOODY'S   QUESTION-DRAWER.  249 

the  squawking  of  wild  geese — you  hear  them,  but  you 
don't  see  them.  I  believe  music  like  that  just  drives 
people  av/ay.  Sing  the  Gospel.  Some  of  the  hymns 
have  it  in  a  very  fev/  words.  Sing  it  into  the  hearts  of 
the  people.  There  would  be  a  thousand  times  more  fire 
in  our  church  music  if  we  could  get  the  people  all  to 
take  part  in  it.  In  that  way  you  can  draw  men  in  from 
the  street.  Nothing  will  draw  people  together  like  music. 
Just  look,  on  a  fine  night,  in  any  of  those  towns,  how 
many  people  will  come  out  to  hear  a  band.  They 
wouldn't  come  to  hear  a  speaker,  but  they  will  come  for 
the  music.  The  devil  knows  that.  Even  the  saloons 
have  good  music.  They  pay  men  to  go  there  and  play 
and  drav\r  the  people  in,  and  then  get  the  benefit  by  sell- 
ing liquor  at  the  bar.  Now,  sha'n't  we  use  some  of  the 
same  kind  of  music  to  dravv^  men  toward  our  religious 
meetings,  rather  than  have  such  dry,  stupid  meetings  ? 
It  is  hard  work,  sometimes,  in  a  good  many  of  our  asso- 
ciations for  the  most  active  member  to  keep  awake. 
What  we  v\^ant  is  more  fire.  Do  you  know  what  the  old 
Scotch  woman  said  to  a  minister  ?  There  was  something 
so  soothing  about  his  voice,  and  she  got  so  used  to  it,  that 
it  put  her  to  sleep.  Ke  suggested — being  in  the  habit 
of  taking  snuff — a  little  snuff.  She  retorted  :  "  Hadn't 
you  better  put  a  little  more  snuff  into  your  sermon  ? " 

Q.  How  can  we  keep  cant  out  of  our  meetings,  and 
out  of  our  colleges  ?  A.  Professor  Drummond,  I  wish 
you  would  answer  that.  Prof.  Drummond — Mr.  Moody, 
if  you  could  do  that,  I  think  the  battle  of  evangelism 
would  be  won.  What  we  need  more  than  anything  else 
just  now  is  an  evangelist  to  evangelists — to  deepen  their 
own  religious  knowledge,  and  to  broaden  it  more  espe- 
cially. The  men  who  run  evangelistic  movements  in 
our  :ountry  are  largely  men  of  the  class  to  which  this 
question  refers,  and,  so  far  as  I  can  see,  the  only  way  tc 


250  A   COLLEGE   OF   COLLEGES. 

remedy  it  is  for  the  more  solid  men  to  come  to  the  front 
and  take  up  the  reins  themselves.  In  many  cases  a 
young  man  who  respects  himself  will  have  nothing  to 
do  with  evangelistic  work  with  us,  whether  in  the  col- 
leges or  Young  Men's  Christian  Associations,  or  in  the 
towns  and  cities.  I  say  in  many  cases.  There  are  many 
exceptions,  but  in  many  cases  that  holds  good.  And  the 
chief  obstacle  to  our  work  is  simply  the  number  of  su- 
perficial characters — some  of  them  sincere,  animated  by 
zeal  without  knowledge — and  some  of  them  mere  whited 
sepulchres.  You  can't  get  rid  of  these  men  except  by 
the  better  men  coming  to  the  front.  Naturally  the  bet- 
ter men  shrink  from  identifying  themselves  with  a  relig- 
ion of  that  kind — with  such  narrowness  ;  and  a  broad 
man  has  to  ask  himself  whether  after  all  he  is  not  allow- 
ing himself  to  be  narrowed  when  he  shuts  himself  up 
from  contact  with  aggressive  Christianity  because  of 
the  narrow  men  who  take  it  up,  while  if  he  were  a  little 
broader  he  would  see  that  it  is  his  duty  to  supplant 
those  men  at  any  cost  of  private  feeling  or  inclination. 
These  men  are  often  very  valuable.  They  have  the 
heat ;  the  other  men  have  the  light.  And  if  they  can 
be  kept  where  the  dynamo  is  kept :  in  the  cellar — the 
electric  light  visible  to  the  public — you  may  solve  the 
difficulty.  That  is  what  Ave  are  trying  to  do  in  Edin- 
burgh. We  try  to  keep  the  men  of  heat  in  their  lodgings. 
We  don't  let  them  be  seen  on  the  platform,  or  handling 
our  bills  and  hymn-sheets.  We  keep  them  as  much  as 
possible  in  the  cellar,  and  there  they  pray  for  us.  We 
allow  them  to  some  extent  to  produce  the  energy  of  tlie 
movement,  just  as  the  electric-light  machine  produces 
the  energy  for  the  electric  light ;  but  we  go  to  the  other 
men  to  stand  before  the  public  and  exhibit  the  broad 
light  of  Christian  love.  I  think  we  should  go  from  this 
conference  determined  to  stamp  out  that  type  of  religion 


MR.    MOODY  S   QUESTION-DRAWER.  2$  I 

if  we  can.  Another  thing  is  to  take  these  men  singly 
and  deal  with  them  about  it.  Whenever  there  is  no 
deepness  of  earth  a  little  soil  can  be  added,  and  by  a  little 
judicious  use  of  geological  agents  of  one  kind  or  an- 
other the  rock  may  be  pulverized  and  a  richer  soil  in 
some  way  produced.  This  is  a  question  of  delicacy,  and 
it  requires  a  good  deal  of  tact  ;  but  there  is  nothing 
more  worth  doing  than  to  deepen  a  shallow  Christian, 
and  make  him  a  man  who  can  win  the  respect  of  his 
fellows. 

Q.  What  do  you  mean  by  "broad  light"?  Prof. 
Drummond — Well ;  those  men  usually  Vv^ho  talk  cant, 
have  a  very  miserable  light.  It  is  enough  for  them- 
selves to  walk  by,  but  it  vron't  direct  others  along  or 
show  them  the  way  of  life.  What  we  want  is  a  larger 
and  fuller  Gospel. 

Q.  Some  of  us  don't  understand  the  meaning  of  that 
word  "cant"  as  applied  here.  What  is  cant?  Prof. 
Drummond — I  think  I  defined  it  the  other  day.  It 
means  anything  unreal  or  exaggerated  ;  any  exagger- 
ated expression  of  religious  feeling  ;  anything  untrue 
to  the  nature  of  the  man  who  speaks  it.  A  young  man 
has  a  religion  that  is  his  own.  An  old  woman  has  the 
religion  of  an  old  woman.  When  you  find  a  young  man 
imitating  the  religion  of  an  old  woman,  that  is  cant. 
[Applause.] 

Mr.  Moody — I  want  to  say  that  we  cannot  deal  with  a 
more  important  question.  I  know  association  after  as- 
sociation and  church  after  church  that  are  almost  ruined 
by  men  coming  to  the  front  that  ought  to  be  back  in 
the  rear,  and  we  haven't  got  the  moral  courage  and 
common  honesty  to  deal  with  them.  A  good  many 
Christians  will  stay  back  and  let  the  cause  of  Christ 
just  be  swept  away  by  these  men.  Now,  I  say  it  isn't 
honest  if  an  association  in  your  town  or  in  your  college 


252  A  COLLEGE   OF   COLLEGES. 

isn't  what  it  ought  to  be  ;  and  3"0u  are  to  blame  if  you 
don't  do  all  you  can  to  make  it  what  it  ought  to  be. 
Loyalty  to  Christ  ought  to  bring  you  forward.  If  there 
is  a  man  bringing  reproach  on  Christ,  hadn't  we  ought 
to  deal  with  him  honestly  ?  I  know  ministers  that  have 
got  men  in  their  churches  they  know  haven't  got  clean 
records — their  character  isn't  what  it  ought  to  be,  they 
know.  They  have  men  whose  reputation  is  gone — whose 
record  is  anything  but  right — and' yet  they  are  afraid  to 
go  and  deal  with  them.  There  is  very  little  church  dis- 
cipline now.  These  are  facts  ;  and  the  time  has  come, 
it  seems  to  me,  v/hen  we  should  just  take  this  question 
up  and  deal  with  it.  I  wish  we  had  a  man — a  sort  of 
bishop — in  the  associations,  who  would  go  around  and 
root  out  these  men.  Let  us  have  good  men — men  that 
stand  well  in  the  community.  I  am  an  Association  man 
— every  hair  of  my  head — and  I  love  the  Association  ; 
and  if  I  am  worth  much  to  the  Church  of  God  I  have 
got  it  through  the  Association.  When  I  couldn't  fmd 
any  other  field  to  work  in,  it  was  there  I  found  that 
field,  and  I  thank  God  for  it ;  and  it  is  just  because  I 
love  this  Association  that  I  speak  as  I  do.  We  want  to 
get  rid  of  these  men.  What  we  want  to-day  is  men  that 
have  got  a  rounded-out  character — men  that  are  men. 
We  don't  want  half-men — men  that  are  good  in  spots. 
We  don't  want  a  man  that  doesn't  pay  his  washing 
[laughter] — that  will  let  some  poor  woman  wash  for 
him  and  not  pay  her.  Ought  that  man  to  get  up  and 
talk  in  a  prayer-meeting? — a  man  that  doesn't  keep  his 
word — a  m.an  that  promises  to  be  around  and  pay  his 
bill  and  doesn't  go — pays  no  attention  to  it  ?  The  cred- 
itor hunts  him  up  and  finds  him  in  a  prayer-meeting  ; 
comes  again  and  again  and  again,  and  finds  him  taking 
an  active  part  in  the  association,  I  would  go  to  such  a 
man  and  say  :    "  You   must  clean  up  your   recor-'j,  my 


MR.    MOODY'S   QUESTION-DRAWER.  253 

friend.  You  can't  take  any  part  in  our  meetings  till 
this  thing  is  straightened  out."  There  is  a  good  deal  of 
that  in  America  ;  and  not  only  that,  but  there  are  some 
of  these  men  who  will  want  to  borrow  a  dollar  or  two 
of  you,  and  they  will  borrow  it  and  never  mention  it 
afterward.  These  men  are  hanging  around  our  associ- 
ations, and  we  want  to  shake  them  off. 

Q.  Where  would  you  have  the  choir  of  a  church — in 
the  back  or  the  front?  A.  Well,  my  friend  ;  you  notice 
our  ears  are  stuck  on  this  way,  don't  you  ? — [indicating 
with  his  hands].  [Great  laughter.]  I  have  never  been 
able  to  see  why  the  choir  should  be  placed  at  the  back. 
Very  often  I  have  been  in  churches  where  the  choir  was 
at  one  end,  and  I  was  at  the  other ;  and  the  chorister 
would  come  and  say  :  "  I  wish  you  would  give  me  the 
hymns," — and  he  would  want  everything  to  keep  on  in  a 
certain  groove.  But  I  suppose  ninety-nine  out  of  a 
hundred  times  I  selected  a  hymn  at  the  close  of  the 
service  that  was  somewhere  else.  If  the  man  is  right 
there,  j^ou  can  change  it  and  just  v/hisper  to  him  that 
you  are  going  to  give  another  hymn.  Not  only  that, 
but  what  is  the  leader  doing  back  there  beating  time? 
I  was  in  a  church  two  or  three  years  ago  v/here  the 
choir  v/as  in  front  of  me.  The  leader  stood  there  beat- 
ing time,  and  the  only  man  in  the  whole  church  that 
could  see  him  was  myself.  There  he  was,  working 
harder  than  any  man  there.  That  man  ought  to  have 
been  in  front,  where  the  people  could  see  him. 

Q.  My  friends  think  I  am  fitted  to  be  a  general  secre- 
tary. As  a  college  graduate,  can't  I  find  a  larger  field 
of  usefulness?  A.  I  think  if  I  v/ere  going  to  India  or 
China  to-day,  I  would  go  out  to  work  for  the  young 
men.  Mr.  McBurney,  how  many  young  men  are  there 
in  New  York?  Mr.  McBurney  —  About  400,000.  We 
have   more   young  men    in  New  York  than   could   be 


254  A   COLLECxE   OF   COLLEGES. 

seated  at  one  time  in  all  the  churches  and  chapels  of 
every  faith.  Mr.  Moody — There  is  no  trouble  about  the 
field  being  large  enough  The  advantage  of  getting 
these  young  men  is,  that  if  you  get  a  man  v^^ho  is  twenty, 
he  has  got  fitty  years  of  work  for  God  before  him.  Just 
think  of  that.  If  you  get  an  old  man,  he  has  got  to 
spend  all  his  days  fighting  his  old  habits.  I  think  if  a 
man  is  going  to  the  foreign  field,  he  would  do  well  to 
go  into  an  association  and  learn  how  to  get  hold  of 
young  men.  A  great  many  of  our  theological  students 
are  educated  away  from  the  people.  They  are  kept  at 
school,  and  college,  and  seminary,  and  the  result  is  they 
don't  know  much  about  human  nature.  It  is  a  good 
thing  to  go  down  into  a  mission  Sunday-school  and  take 
a  little  class  of  boys  right  off  the  streets,  who  would 
pick  your  pockets  if  you  didn't  keep  your  eyes  on  them. 
There's  v^^here  you  will  learn  about  human  nature.  You 
have  got  to  keep  them  interested.  They  will  get  up  and 
walk  out  if  you  don't.  If  a  man  v/ill  learn  to  preach  in 
that  way,  he'll  preach  so  that  people  will  like  to  hear  him, 

Q.  How  can  associations  best  promote  a  sense  of  re- 
sponsibility among  their  members  for  the  extension  of 
the  Gospel  in  heathen  lands  ?  A.  Well ;  if  they  get  a 
love  for  souls  in  their  home  field,  they  will  reach  out. 
Men  must  have  a  passion  for  souls  before  they  are  fit 
for  home  work  or  foreign  work.  When  you  get  a  taste  of 
the  luxur)?-  of  winning  souls  for  Christ,  you  can't  help  it. 

Q.  What  place  should  entertainments  occupy  in 
Christian  work  ?  A.  If  the  motive  is  right,  these  things 
are  of  great  advantage.  If  you  go  to  an  entertainment 
merely  to  gratify  yourself  and  have  a  good  time,  it 
seems  to  me  it  is  lowering  the  standard.  But  if  you 
think  an  entertainment  is  going  to  give  you  a  better 
hold  upon  some  people,  I  believe  it  is  very  profitable. 

Q.  How  can  we  get  our  young  men  interested  in  our 


MR.    MOODY'S   QUESTION-DRAWER.  255 

pra3^er-meetings  ?  A.  Make  the  meetings  so  interesting 
they  can't  help  but  come.  There  is  no  place  that  can  be 
made  so  profitable  and  so  interesting  as  the  prayer- 
meeting  if  we  only  use  a  little  judgment  about  how  to 
conduct  it.  In  the  first  place,  have  variety.  Let  every- 
thing be  brief.  Begin  on  time  and  close  on  time.  A 
great  many  times  the  prayer-meeting  gets  really  alive, 
and  the  leader  thinks  it  is  too  good  to  close.  He  for- 
gets that  other  people  are  not  as  interested  as  he  is  ;  so 
he  lets  the  meeting  run  on  till  the  life  begins  to  ebb. 
It  is  a  great  deal  better  to  close  a  meeting  at  high  tide 
than  to  let  it  ooze  out.  Another  thing  is  to  watch  the 
ventilation.  I  heard  this  morning  that  last  night  some 
people  wanted  some  of  the  v/indows  closed,  and  the  air 
in  the  middle  of  the  room  became  foul,  so  that  the  peo- 
ple there  couldn't  enjoy  the  sermon  as  'they  would  if 
they  had  had  fresh  air.  I  said  to  the  man  that  told  me  : 
*'Why  didn't  you  get  up  and  ask  some  one  to  open  the 
window  ? "  He  said  he  didn't  want  to  disturb  the  meet- 
ing. Ah,  it  is  a  great  deal  better  to  disturb  the  meeting 
than  it  is  to  let  the  people  become  drowsy.  It  is  very 
im.portant  to  have  fresh  air.  Sometimes  people  think 
they  lack  spiritual  life,  when  it  is  fresh  air  they  lack. 

Q.  Would  you  use  old  or  new  hymns  in  the  prayer- 
meeting?     A.  I  would  use  old  tunes  and  use  new  tunes. 

Q.  How  are  you  going  to  get  the  people  to  learn  new 
tunes?  A.  Ask  them  to  come  fifteen  minutes  ahead  of 
the  time  to  practise  them.  I  would  keep  constantly  in- 
troducing new  pieces. 

Q.  How  are  you  going  to  get  hymn-books  ?  A.  Let 
the  people  buy  hymn-books.  There's  no  trouble  about 
that.  If  a  man  can  pay  five  cents  for  a  cigar,  let  him 
pay  fi.ve  cents  for  a  hymn-book.  Then  he  has  something 
he  can  take  home. 

Q.  What  is  required  of  us  that  we  may  receive  the 


256  A   COLLEGE   OF   COLLEGES. 

baptism  of  power  ?  A.  Well ;  I  want  to  say  that  if  a 
man  really  wants  that  above  everything  else,  and  is  will- 
ing to  give  everything  else  up  if  need  be,  and  will  wait 
upon  God  for  that  power,  it  v/ill  come  on  him.  That  is 
just  what  God  wants.  If  we  desire  that  gift  above 
everything  else,  the  Lord  will  bestow  it  upon  us. 

Q.  Ought  a  minister  to  preach  until  he  knows  he  has 
received  this  power  ?  A.  He  should  keep  right  on  work- 
ing, and  it  may  be  that  while  he  is  preaching  the  power 
will  come.  I  would  press  that  one  thing  upon  the  Lord 
until  He  gave  me  power.  It  is  the  privilege  of  every 
one  to  have  power.  We  can  go  on  without  power,  or 
we  can  seek  it  v/ith  all  our  heart. 

Q.  How  shall  I  get  the  gift  of  the  Spirit  for  service  ? 
I  desire  it  above  all  things  else.  A.  "Well ;  if  you  desire 
it  above  all  things,  just  keep  waiting  upon  God  for  it.  It 
will  come.  It  may  come  suddenly.  It  may  come  at  an 
hour  when  you  don't  expect  it.  It  may  come  in  greater 
measure  than  you  are  able  to  receive.  God  has  prom- 
ised it.     Just  keep  holding  on  to  His  promises. 

Q.  What  is  a  call  to  the  foreign  field  ?  A.  Mr.  Wilder, 
will  you  answer  that  ?  Mr.  Wilder — I  find  nothing  in 
the  Bible  which  tells  me  that  I  need  more  of  a  call  to 
take  me  to  India  than  to  Dakota.  "  The  field  is  the 
world."  There  are  no  boundary  lines  in  the  Lord's 
v/ork.  A  Princeton  student  stated  the  matter  of  "  a  call  " 
as  follov/s  :  Near  the  gate  I  find  many  pickers  and  few 
grapes  ;  further  on  are  fewer  pickers,  but  more  grapes  ; 
while  in  the  far  distance  the  clusters  are  dead  ripe  and 
not  a  man  to  pick.  Where  shall  I  work  ?  Will  I  not  go 
where  the  grapes  are  the  thickest  and  the  laborers  fevv- 
est,  unless  the  Master  gives  me  a  special  call  to  labor 
near  the  gate  where  v/orkers  are  many  and  clusters  are 
tew?  The  gate  represents  our  East,  where  ministers  are 
numerous  and  people  comparatively  few.    Then  we  have 


MR.   MOODY  S   QUESTION-DRAWER.  257 

the  frontier,  where  grapes  are  thicker  and  workers  less 
numerous.  But  far  away  are  the  foreign  fields,  where 
we  have  hundreds  of  millions  of  clusters  dead  ripe  and 
without  a  man  to  pick.  In  viewing  these  millions  the 
question  is  not  "Am  I  called  to  be  a  foreign  missionary  ? " 
But,  "Am  I  exempt V 

Q.  What  do  you  think  about  it  yourself?  Mr.  Moody 
— If  I  thought  God  wanted  me  in  India  or  China,  I 
would  be  up  and  off  to-m.orrov/.  I  have  no  will.  I'd 
rather  a  thousand  times  be  in  the  heart  of  Africa  with 
God's  blessing  than  to  be  in  this  country  without  it,  and 
feeling  I  was  going  against  His  will.  I  don't  believe 
there  is  any  man  on  the  face  of  the  earth  that  is  happier 
than  the  man  who  is  just  carrying  out  the  v/ill  of  God, 
whatever  it  is  ;  and  I  believe  the  most  unhappy  Chris- 
tian is  the  man  who  is  constantly  going  against  the  will 
of  God.  Don't  think  what  is  best  yourself,  or  best  for 
some  other  man,  but  just  follow  the  will  of  God.  That 
is  the  way  it  looks  to  me.  You  know  this  going  to  for- 
eign fields  doesn't  mean  much  now.  Crossing  the  At- 
lantic is  like  crossing  a  great  ferry.  You  can  go  around 
the  world  in  less  time  than  it  used  to  take  to  go  around 
the  Roman  Empire.  It  doesn't  take  long  now  to  go  to 
India  or  China.  There  is  a  romance  about  going  to  for- 
eign fields  that  we  must  guard  against.  Go  right  to  work 
at  home,  and  keep  your  ears  open,  and  if  God  wants 
you  He  will  call  you.  When  God  opens  a  door  before 
you,  press  in.     But  make  sure  that  God  calls  you. 

Q.  How  can  we  tell?  A.  Well  ;  if  it  is  so  impressed 
upon  you  that  you  can't  think  of  anything  else  ;  and 
you  pray  God  to  lead  you  and  guide  you,  and  the  vv^hole 
leading  is  toward  that  field,  I  should  call  that  an  answer 
to  prayer.  That  is  the  way  God  leads.  He  isn't  going 
to  send  Gabriel  to  tell  you  to  go,  or  give  you  a  vision 
like  what  Paul  had  v/hen  he  saw  a  man  saying,  "  Come 


258  A  COLLEGE   OF   COLLEGES. 

over  into  Macedonia,"  or  as  Peter  had — a  tent  let  down 
from  heaven.  But  theie  will  be  a  drawing  towards  it, 
and  you  will  have  no  sleep  unless  you  go. 

Q.  Will  Mr.  Wilder  state  the  difference  between  being 
called  and  being  exempt  ?  Mr.  Wilder — I  emphasize  this 
subject  because  so  many  stumble  over  "the  call."  They 
do  not  know  what  it  means.  In  one  of  the  colleges  a 
young  man  said  :  "  I  am  not  called  to  be  a  missionary, 
because  I  have  not  the  requisite  ability."  The  very  next 
institution  we  visited  a  student  said  :  "  I  would  like  to 
go  to  the  foreign  field,  but  feel  that  God  wants  me  to 
stay  at  home  because  He  has  given  me  special  talents  in 
the  line  of  executive  work."  One  man  thought  he  was 
not  "called"  because  he  had  too  much  executive  ability. 
The  other  supposed  he  was  not  "called  "  because  he  had 
too  little  executive  abilit}^ !  Let  us  face  this  question 
fairly.  Suppose  there  are  two  churches  before  me.  One 
has  a  congregation  of  ten.  The  other  has  a  congrega- 
tion of  a  thousand.  Suppose  that  I  find  three  applicants 
for  the  church  of  ten,  and  none  for  the  church  of  a  thou- 
sand. Do  I  need  a  "  special  call "  to  take  me  to  the 
thousand  ?  Should  I  not  start  at  once  for  the  thousand, 
unless  God  gives  me  a  "special  call"  to  stay  with  the 
ten  ?  Or  suppose  that  in  the  Middle  States  there  is  not 
a  Christian,  and  not  one  man  to  preach  Christ.  If  you 
could  choose  between  settling  in  Massachusetts  with  its 
many  churches,  or  going  to  the  Middle  States,  would 
you  not  start  at  once  for  the  Middle  States,  unless  you 
had  a  "  special  call  "  to  keep  you  in  Massachusetts  ?  The 
question  would  be,  not  whether  you  are  "  called  "  to  the 
Middle  States,  but  are  you  "  exempt "  from  going.  Why 
not  decide  in  the  same  way  between  the  foreign  and 
home  fields  ?  "The  field  is  the  world."  Should  we  not 
strike  for  the  neediest  part  of  the  world-field,  unless  wc 
are  exempt  from  so  doing  ? 


MR.    MOODY  S   QUESTIOx\-D RAWER.  259 

Mr.  Moody — Do  you  mean,  then,  that  a  man  should 
go  where  he  can  do  the  most  good  ?     Mr.  Wilder — Yes. 

Mr.  Wishard— Will  Mr.  Wilder  give  Stanley  P.  Smith's 
illustration  concerning  feeding  eighty  of  the  five  thou- 
sand ?  Mr.  Wilder — Imagine  the  disciples  are  here  dis- 
tributing the  food,  and  that  this  great  assembly  is  the 
hungry  multitude  that  is  waiting  to  be  fed.  They  go  to 
the  first  row  of  benches  distributing  the  food,  and  to  the 
second,  and  the  third,  and  the  fourth,  and  so  on  to  the 
eighth  TOW.  '  But  at  the  end  of  the  eighth  row  they  stop 
and  turn  back  to  the  first,  and  feed  these  eight  rows 
again,  pouring  bread  and  fish  into  their  laps  and  piling 
it  about  them,  leaving  the  starving  multitudes  behind 
un cared  for.  What  do  you  suppose  our  Lord  would  say 
if  H  were  here  ?  Let  us  take  the  parable  to  ourselves, 
for  this  is  what  we  have  been  doing.  We  have  been 
feeding  these  nearest  to  us  over  and  over  again  with  the 
bread  which  our  Lord  has  given  to  us,  and  have  neglected 
the  multitudes  beyond. 

Q.  Would  you  have  unconverted  persons  stand  in  the 
audience  and  publicly  commit  themselves  in  favor  of 
Christ  ?  A.  I  never  would  get  a  man  to  take  a  position 
beyond  the  leading  of  the  Spirit,  or  beyond  his  convic- 
tion. If  you  get  a  man  to  go  beyond  his  conviction,  the 
result  is  that  u^hen  he  goes  out  beyond  the  influence  of 
the  meeting  he  begins  to  realize  what  he  has  been  doing, 
and  he  thinks  you  have  inveigled  him  too  far.  -Very 
often  a  man  will  get  into  a  very  enthusiastic  mood,  and 
take  a  position  he  hasn't  been  led  to  by  the  Spirit  ot 
God.  Then  will  come  a  reaction  ;  and  then  it  is  harder 
to  reach  that  man  than  it  was  before.  I  think  we  ought 
to  be  very  cautious  about  getting  men  to  take  a  stand 
in  a  public  meeting.  It  takes  a  good  deal  of  wisdom  to 
know  how  to  deal  with  men  whom  you  are  trying  to  lead 
to  Christ.     Very  often  it  takes  days  rather  than  minutes 


26o  A   COLLEGE   OF   COLLEGES. 

or  hours.  I  have  been  in  meetings  when  it  seemed  as  if 
more  harm  than  good  was  done  by  getting  the  audiences 
to  vote  to  do  some  particular  thing,  when  really  they 
didn't  know  what  they  were  doing.  I  remember  a  friend 
of  mine  in  the  West  who  used  to  try  to  start  a  union 
prayer-meeting.  He  used  to  get  people  to  vote  that 
they  would  keep  up  that  meeting  as  long  as  the  Missis- 
sippi River  should  run.  When  I  would  come  back  in  a 
month  or  two,  it  would  be  all  gone.  The  people  had 
perjured  themselves.  I  was  afraid  last  night  that  Pro- 
fessor Drummond  was  going  to  take  a  vote  to  read  that 
chapter  in  Corinthians.  I  don't  like  to  promise  defi- 
nitely that  I  will  read  a  certain  chapter  once  a  week  or 
once  a  month.  I  think  I  will  ;  but  I  am  afraid  in  the 
course  of  a  month  I  may  perhaps  be  down  in  New  York 
and  I  may  forget  to  read  it,  and  then  my  conscience 
would  be  troubled.  I  wouldn't  like  it  on  my  conscience 
that  I  had  made  a  vow  and  not  kept  it.  I  don't  think 
Christian  people  should  put  themselves  under  vows. 
We  are  under  grace,  and  I  wouldn't  bind  myself  to  this 
or  that.  I  remember  making  an  agreement  with  a  man 
that  we  should  pray  for  each  other  every  night  as  long 
as  we  lived.  That  simple  thing  got  to  be  a  yoke  that 
was  so  heavy  on  my  neck  I  threw  it  off.  I  believe  a  bad 
vow  is  better  broken  than  kept.  I  prayed  for  that  man 
every  night  till  it  got  so  it  was  just  monotonous.  It  v/as 
a  poor  way.  Sometimes  I  would  forget  to  do  it,  and  my 
conscience  would  trouble  me.  It  may  seem  a  slight 
thing  to  make  a  vow,  but  it  means  a  great  deal. 


CHAPTER    XXI. 

AN   EMINENT   CALLING. 

A.ddress  by  the  Rev.  Edwin  F.  See,  General  Secretary  of  the  Brook- 
lyn Young  Men's  Christian  Association — Claims  of  the  General 
Secretaryship  upon  College  Men — Variety  and  Importance  of  the 
Duties  of  the  Office  —  All  the  Resources  of  Liberal  Training 
Needed. 

It  is  only  within  two  or  three  years  that  the  General 
Secretaryship  has  been  prominently  before  college  men 
as  one  of  the  professions  from  which  they  might  choose 
their  life-work.  This  may  have  proceeded  from  two 
facts  :  ignorance  of  the  duties  of  the  General  Secretary- 
ship, and  consequent  underrating  of  the  responsibili- 
ties of  the  office.  The  ignorance  of  most  people  con- 
cerning the  duties  that  devolve  upon  the  General  Sec- 
retary is  as  great  as  that  of  the  lady  who  asked  the 
General  Secretary  of  one  of  the  largest  of  our  city 
Associations,  what  he  did,  and  receiving  the  reply  that 
he  was  the  General  Secretary  of  the  Young  Men's  Chris- 
tian Association,  said,  "  Yes,  I  know  that,  but  what  else 
do  you  do  ?  "  and  v\^as  astonished  to  hear  that  not  only 
was  all  his  time  occupied  in  connection  with  the  work 
of  the  Association,  but  also  that  of  several  assistants. 

Such  ignorance  has  necessarily  led  to  the  underrating 
of  the  General  Secretaryship  as  a  profession.  The  feel- 
ing has  been  that  if  a  man  has  failed  in  business  or  in 
other  work,  he  might  possibly  become  a  good  General 
Secretary.  And  so  the  lame  and  spavined  steeds  who  had 
been  worsted  in  other  contests  have  been  thought  worthy 

(261) 


262  A   COLLEGE   OF   COLLEGES. 

of  a  trial  on  the  Association  course.  Too  often,  also,  a 
good-hearted  man  of  right  intentions,  filling  a  clerkship 
fairly  well,  and  with  a  desire  to  be  more  actively  en- 
gaged in  Christian  work,  has  been  switched  from  his 
clerkship  into  the  Secretaryship,  because  he  could  fall 
into  it  without  any  special  training,  and  has  been  as 
successful  as  one  would  expect  a  butcher  to  be,  who 
thought  God  had  called  him  to  be  a  barber,  and  at- 
tempted to  fill  the  place  of  the  latter  without  any  pre- 
vious experimentation. 

Is  there  anything  in  the  General  Secretaryship,  then, 
that  is  worthy  of  the  ability  and  training  of  our  edu- 
cated men  ?  I  should  say  so.  No  college  man  need  feel 
that  he  is  descending  in  the  least  from  his  highest  pos- 
sibilities, or  throwing  away  a  single  advantage  gained 
by  four  years  of  academic  training  in  entering  the  Sec- 
retaryship. For,  consider  what  the  General  Secretary 
is.  The  name  ill  defines  him,  although  for  obvious 
reasons  it  may  not  be  possible  to  change  the  designa- 
tion now.  The  majority  of  men,  thinking  of  the  name, 
would  say  that  his  principal  duty  is  to  conduct  the  cor- 
respondence of  his  Association.  The  fact  is,  however, 
that  that  is  one  of  the  least  prominent,  least  onerous, 
and  least  responsible  parts  of  his  office.  He  is  a  Gen- 
eral Manager,  rather  than  a  General  Secretary.  Not 
that  he  holds  supreme  control  in  the  counsels  of  his 
Association,  without  reference  to  the  judgment  of  the 
President  or  Board  of  Directors  ;  but  he  holds  the  same 
relation  to  them  as  the  General  Manager  of  a  railroad 
holds  to  the  President  and  Board  of  Directors  of  that 
road  He  shapes  the  policy  of  the  Association  largely 
in  things  great  and  small  ;  he  is  the  pivot  around  vv'hich 
all  business  and  work  revolve ;  he  is  the  one  who  in  the 
final  analysis  is  responsible  for  the  success  or  failure  of 
the  Association. 


AN   EMINENT   CALLING.  2    3 

1.  The  General  Secretary  is  the  manager  of  a  schoc  ■ 
of  physical  culture.  The  office  of  the  physician  is  « 
noble  one.  It  is  a  great  thing  to  be  able  to  put  a  stop 
to  the  ravages  of  disease,  and  relieve  the  distresses  of 
pain.  But  the  General  Secretaryship  is  a  profession, 
only  ^;/^  of  whose  duties  it  is  to  manage  a  great  physical 
institution.  More  than  that,  the  work  of  the  physician 
is  largely  remedial, — to  arrest  disease,  already  on  the 
war-path  ;  while  the  work  of  these  schools  of  physical 
culture  is  preventive, — to  build  up  bodies  that  will  throw 
off  disease  and  refuse  an  entrance  to  pain.  Still  fur- 
ther, the  physician's  v/ork,  as  a  physician,  is  done,  when 
the  patient's  body  is  saved.  The  doctor  will  not  be  con- 
sidered recreant  to  his  duty,  looked  upon  simply  as  a 
professional  man,  if  he  never  thinks  of  the  fact  that  his 
patient  has  a  soul.  We  feel,  on  the  other  hand,  that  the 
smallest  part  of  our  work  is  done  when  a  man's  body  is 
made  strong.  That  g3^mnasium  of  a  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association  is  not  doing  its  w^ork  that  is  not 
bringing  young  men  to  Jesus  Christ.  As  Bishop  Potter 
has  said,  these  Associations  have  wrested  the  gymna- 
sium from  the  hands  of  prize-fighters,  and  professional 
athletes,  and  have  put  it  into  the  hands  of  Christian 
gymnasts,  v/ho  are  after  the  souls  of  men  as  well  as 
their  bodies.  The  General  Secretary  is  the  manager  in 
many  instances  of  the  only  school  of  physical  culture 
in  his  towm  or  city.  With  a  few  exceptions,  the  Young 
Men's  Christian  Associations  are  conducting  the  only 
gymnasiums  in  our  country  that  have  been  permanently 
successful. 

2.  The  General  Secretary  is  the  manager  of  an  edu- 
cational institution.  The  office  of  teacher  is  an  exalted 
one.  It  is  a  great  thing  to  sway  the  destinies  of  the 
future  by  shaping  the  character  of  men  of  destiny  in 
their  childhood  and  young  manhood.     It  is  indeed  an 


264  A  COLLEGE   OF  COLLEGES. 

unusual  privilege  to  be  permitted  to  take  care  of  "the 
stuff  that  men  are  made  of."  But  in  the  General  Secre 
tary,  we  have  the  manager  of  an  institution  only  one  ot 
whose  departments  is  concerned  in  this  important  work. 
In  these  educational  institutions  young  men,  already 
engaged  in  the  active  duties  of  life,  and  knowing  from 
actual  experience  the  deficiencies  of  their  early  educa- 
tion, yet  powerless  to  make  up  for  those  deficiencies 
unless  it  be  through  such  institutions  as  these,  are  being 
fitted  for  greater  success  in  business  and  greater  useful- 
ness in  life.  Is  there  no  field  here  for  the  exercise  of 
the  largest  culture  and  the  most  thorough  academic 
training  on  the  part  of  the  General  Secretary  ?  In  the 
perception  of  the  intellectual  needs  of  the  young  men 
of  to-day,  in  the  selection  of  branches  of  study  that  will 
exactly  meet  those  needs,  in  the  choice  of  teachers  who 
will  best  conduct  classes  in  the  various  subjects,  and  con- 
duct them  with  the  greatest  amount  of  adaptability  to 
the  peculiar  character  of  the  students, — there  is  an  un- 
limited scope  for  the  exercise  of  the  widest  knowledge 
concerning  men  and  books.  In  many  Associations  the 
responsibility  of  the  headship  of  the  educational  de- 
partment alone  is  tremendous.  One  of  our  Associations 
reports  an  attendance  of  1,300  young  men  upon  its  classes. 
An  enrollment  of  500  is  not  an  uncommon  circum- 
stance. There  are  but  two  or  three  colleges  in  our  land 
with  a  membership  as  large  as  the  form.er,  and  a  great 
majority  of  them  have  not  as  large  an  attendance  as  the 
latter.  And  yet  we  are  told  that  men  who  have  had  no 
special  advantages  of  education  or  culture  will  do  for 
the  management  of  such  institutions  as  these  !  As  in 
4.he  case  of  the  gymnasium,  in  many  places,  the  educa- 
tional classes  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association 
are  the  only  privilege  of  the  kind  offered  to  young 
men.     Because  of  the  knowledge  of  German  or  French 


AN  EMINENT   CALLING.  265 

or  Spanish — of  Book-keeping,  or  Phonography,  or  Me- 
chanical Drawing — acquired  in  these  classes,  many  a 
young  man  has  risen  higher  in  the  commercial  scale  who 
but  for  it  would  have  filled  to  the  end  of  his  days  a 
position  far  inferior  to  his  capacity. 

3.  The  General  Secretary  is  the  manager  of  a  literary 
institution.  The  office  of  the  librarian  has  come  in 
these  latter  days  to  occupy  the  whole  attention  of  men 
of  the  widest  culture  and  the  greatest  natural  gifts. 
And  yet  the  library  is  only  one  of  the  departments  of 
the  multiform  institution  of  which  the  General  Secretary 
is  the  manager.  The  library  of  the  Young  Men's  Chris- 
tian Association  is  not  unfrequently  the  largest  and 
most  popular  collection  of  books  in  the  city  or  town  to 
which  it  belongs.  Is  there  no  opportunity  for  the  exer- 
cise of  the  most  thorough  knowledge  of  books,  and  of 
the  largest  information  concerning  periodicals  and  pa- 
pers, in  his  consultations  with  the  librarian — his  assist- 
ant in  this  department — and  in  the  subsequent  selection 
of  reading  matter  for  hundreds  of  young  men,  the  de 
termination  of  whose  tastes  and  habits  may  rest  entirely 
upon  the  choice  ?  Then  there  is  the  lecture  and  enter- 
tainment course.  A  lyceum  or  church  committee  will 
spend  days  and  weeks  in  the  preparation  of  a  lecture 
course,  and  in  the  few  instances  in  which  they  are  suc- 
cessful will  congratulate  themselves  that  they  "  have 
done  a  big  thing."  But  if  you  will  ask  the  General 
Secretary  he  will  tell  you  that  the  arrangement  of  such 
a  course  is  only  one  of  the  incidents  of  his  year's  work — 
one  that  he  cannot  afford  to  give  more  than  a  few  days* 
attention  to,  because  of  the  many  other  requirements  of 
his  office.  And  yet  there  are  some  who  will  tell  us  that 
the  discernment  of  the  tastes  and  needs  of  a  great  body 
of  young  people  so  far  as  they  bear  upon  the  pursuit  of 
pleasure  and  the  selection  of  talent  that  will  meet  theii 
12 


266  A  COLLEGE  OF  COLLEGES. 

needs,  and  will  satisfy  and  at  the  same  time  uplift  their 
tastes,  is  an  occupation  unworthy  the  attention  of  an 
educated  man.  We  have  no  time  to  speak  of  the  re- 
sponsibility of  the  General  Secretary  in  the  conduct  of 
the  library  and  debating  society,  and  a  monthly  associ- 
ation paper,  offering  opportunity  for  the  exercise  of  the 
best  literary  taste  and  the  most  careful  culture  of  a  col- 
lege man.  We  pause  under  this  head  long  enough  only 
to  call  attention  to  the  fact  that  the  library  and  reading- 
room,  the  lecture  course  and  literary  society  of  the 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  like  the  gymnasium 
and  educational  classes,  are  in  many  places  the  only 
privileges  of  the  kind  offered  to  young  men. 

4.  The  General  Secretary  is  the  manager  of  a  business 
institution.  Our  Association  buildings  represent  an  in- 
vested capital  of  from  twenty-five  thousand  to  half  a 
million  dollars,  and  the  cost  of  conducting  these  associ- 
ations ranges  from  one  to  thirty-five  thousand  dollars. 
Many  a  young  man  would  think  he  had  his  hands  full 
even  if  he  could  command  his  whole  time  to  devote  to  a 
business  representing  the  capital  and  expenditure  of 
some  of  these  associations.  And  yet  the  duty  of  man- 
aging these  large  financial  interests  is  only  one  of  the 
departments  of  the  General  Secretary's  work.  I  ask,  is 
there  not  in  the  management  of  these  buildings,  with 
the  force  of  employes  needed  to  man  them,  not  to  say 
anything  of  the  frequent  necessity  of  managing  a  can- 
vass for  the  raising  of  large  sums  of  money  for  their 
erection  ;  in  the  devising  of  ways  and  means  of  meeting 
the  current  expenses  of  the  institution,  meaning,  in 
many  cases,  the  solicitation  of  thousands  of  dollars 
every  year  ;  in  the  making  up  of  budgets,  and  compel- 
ling expenditures  to  come  within  them  ;  in  the  over- 
sight of  books  and  legal  documents, — is  there  nothing 
in  all  this  that  is  worthy  of  the  exercise  of  any  executive 


AN    EMINENT   CALLING.  267 

or  business  capacity  that  the  college  man  may  have  de- 
veloped or  acquired  as  the  manager  or  treasurer  of  the 
literary  or  secret  society,  monthly  paper,  athletic  associ- 
ation, or  glee  club  of  his  alma  mater?  If  a  man  have 
not  this  business  and  executive  capacity  in  some  degree 
at  least,  he  should  not  be  looking  forward  to  the  Gen- 
eral Secretaryship. 

5.  The  General  Secretary  is  the  manager  of  an  organ- 
ized body  of  Christian  workers.  One  of  our  Associa- 
tions reports  that  500  men  are  serving  on  its  committees. 
A  church  with  a  membership  of  500  people,  old  and 
young,  male  and  female,  good,  bad,  and  indifferent,  is 
considered  a  large  church  and  worthy  the  service  of  a 
most  able  minister.  But  here  is  an  Association,  with 
^00  active.  Christian  yotmg  7neny  \Yho  have  been  culled  from 
all  others  for  their  Christian  activity,  hard  at  work  under 
the  direction  of  one  man,  not  to  say  anything  of  the 
hundreds  of  others  with  latent  possibilities,  within  easy 
reach.  Here  are  the  best  men  of  the  best  churches  of 
the  place  asking  the  General  Secretary,  "  What  can  I  do, 
under  your  direction,  for  the  young  men  around  me  ?  ** 
Why,  it  is  an  army  of  which  any  General  might  be 
proud. 

The  General  Secretary  directs  the  efforts  oi  young  men, 
and  that  means  a  great  deal.  The  pastor  feels  that 
many  an  effort  is  thrown  away,  or  is  not  as  well  directed 
as  it  might  be,  because  it  is  exerted  in  behalf  of  a  con- 
stituency that  win  not  convey  an  energizing  influence  to 
others  of  their  race.  He  is  every  day  striking  upon  non- 
conductors. But  the  General  Secretary  deals  with  a 
class  of  people,  in  the  young  men  of  his  Association, 
who  are  influential  now  and  will  be  the  pillars  of  Church 
and  State  for  the  future.  He  is  determining  destinies, 
because  he  is  influencing  men  of  destiny. 

Again,  the  pastor  has  to  seek  his  flock  in  their  homes, 


268  A   COLLEGE   OF   COLLEGES. 

at  their  business.  The  constituency  of  the  General  Sec- 
retary comes  to  him  where  he  is.  Every  day  they  troop 
by  his  desk,  and  are  within  arm's  reach.  The  pastor 
finds  his  parishioner  in  a  bad  mood,  or  falls  unexpect- 
edly on  a  family  quarrel,  and  the  object  of  his  visit  is 
frustrated.  The  General  Secretary  takes  the  member 
as  he  finds  him,  and  if  he  is  not  in  the  humor  to  be 
talked  with,  leaves  him  till  another  day,  and  takes  an- 
other, and  no  time  is  lost.  The  General  Secretary  is  in 
constant  contact  with  men.  One  of  our  Associations 
reports  a  daily  average  attendance  at  its  building  of 
1,000  young  men.  What  possibilities  even  for  the  edu- 
cated man  ! 

Many  of  the  members  of  our  Associations,  especially 
in  the  large  cities,  are  college  men,  and  if  they  find  in 
the  General  Secretary  a  man  who  can  talk  to  them  the 
language  of  college  life,  with  its  secret  societies,  and 
class  incidents  and  peculiar  experiences,  a  tie  of  conge- 
niality and  friendship  is  at  once  created  that  might 
otherwise  never  be  formed. 

I  believe  the  ministry  to  be  the  highest,  holiest  calling 
w^hich  can  engage  the  attention  of  man,  and  if  I  could 
not  be  both  minister  and  General  Secretary  I  should 
want  to  be  a  minister ;  but  I  believe  the  General  Secre- 
taryship to  be  the  next  to  the  ministry  in  its  importance 
and  wide-reaching  influence.  Indeed  there  are  cases 
where  an  Association  offers  opportunities  for  reaching 
men  for  Christ  offered  by  few  churches.  I  heard  one  of 
the  leading  ministers  of  one  of  the  leading  denomina- 
tions of  one  of  our  leading  cities — where  many  of  the 
brilliant  preachers  of  our  country  are  gathered — a  man 
accustomed  to  weigh  his  words  well — say  of  the  General 
Secretary  of  the  Association  there,  that  no  minister  in 
the  city  had  exerted  so  great  an  influence  as  he.  I 
heard  another  prominent  minister,  of  another  prominent 


AN   EMINENT   CALLING.  269 

city,  say  at  a  reception  tendered  by  an  Association  to  a 
young  man  who  had  come  to  its  General  Secretaryship 
from  the  pastorate — and  he  weighed  his  words  well- 
that  he  must  not  think  for  a  moment,  nor  let  others 
think,  that  he  had  descended  from  a  higher  position  to 
a  lower  one. 

College  men  will  do  well  to  consider  these  facts.  The 
General  Secretaryship  needs  them.  The  law, — its  offices 
are  overcrowded,  and  it  is  an  exception  for  a  young  man 
to  make  his  way  in  it  under  five  or  ten  years.  Medicine, — 
our  medical  schools  are  turning  out  young  doctors  by 
hundreds  every  year  who  will  never  find  an  adequate 
field  of  usefulness  for  their  powers,  because  the  places 
are  already  filled.  Journalism, — our  newspaper  offices 
are  already  overrun  with  applicants.  College  men  are 
seeking  these  professions,  and  these  professions  because 
they  do  not  need  them  are  turning  them  away :  the 
General  Secretaryship  is  seeking  college  men,  and  be 
cause  it  does  need  them,  is  not  turning  them  away. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

NORTHFIELD    NUGGETS. 

Extracts  from  Several  Addresses— Mr.  Moody's  Ardor — Dr.  Pierson 
on  Foreign  Missions  — Henry  Clay  Trumbull  on  the  Significance  oi 
Single  Words — Prof.  Townsend  on  Jonah — An  Anecdote  by  Dr. 
Munhall. 

Mr.  Moody  :  I  believe  we  are  on  the  eve  of  the  great- 
est things  this  country  has  ever  seen.  Last  year  a  num- 
ber of  students  offered  themselves  for  foreign  work — ■ 
we  thought  it  was  one  hundred,  and  it  was  a  wonderful 
sight.  But  two  young  men  got  fired  up,  and  they  have 
gone  to  the  colleges,  and  now  they  have  brought  back 
the  report  that  over  2,000  young  men  and  women  have 
offered  themselves.  We  are  living  in  a  wonderful  age. 
They  have  come  here,  many  of  them,  from  the  colleges 
all  over  the  country.  May  they  receive  the  enduement 
of  the  Holy  Ghost  as  they  have  never  had  it  before  ! 
May  they  be  willing  to  say  :  "  Here  am  I,  Lord.  Take 
me.  Send  me  to  Africa.  Send  me  to  Japan.  Send  me 
to  China."  Oh,  may  God  fire  us  all,  and  let  us  go  to 
the  very  corners  of  the  earth  with  the  Gospel  of  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ !  I  wish  I  was  twenty-one  to-night. 
When  I  think  of  what  is  before  this  country  I  want  to 
be  a  young  man  again.  Lift  up  vour  heads  and  rejoice 
that  you  are  young  men  and  life  is  before  you  !  I  wish 
I  v/as  a  young  man  again  !  I  just  feel  the  old  fire  com- 
ing up  into  my  bones  again.  I  would  like  to  go  to  In- 
dia, wouldn't  3^ou  ? 

Dr.  Pierson  :   Let  me  say  to  these  men  and  these 
C270) 


NORTHFIELD   NUGGETS.  2^\ 

women  who  represent  the  cream  of  the  Christian  Church, 
and  the  flower  even  of  the  tree  of  righteousness  :  How 
can  you  doubt  that  there  is  something  in  this  work  that 
eicvates,  and  inspires,  and  sanctifies,  and  glorifies  ?  You 
may  sometimes  think,  perhaps,  that  Harriet  Newell 
threw  her  life  away,  dying  at  the  early  age  of  nineteen  ; 
but  I  tell  you,  my  dear  brethren,  that  every  wave  that 
washes  the  coast  of  the  Isle  of  France  rebounds  to  carry 
to  every  land  of  Christendom  the  hallowed  memory  of 
the  consecration  of  Harriet  Newell.  This  v/as  no  waste. 
The  alabaster  box  was  broken,  and  the  ointment  was 
poured  out ;  and  there  is  not  a  spot  of  Christendom  that 
is  not  fragrant  with  the  memory  of  that  sainted  young 
life.  There  was  dear  Mrs.  Grant,  who  went  among  the 
Nestorians  of  Persia,  and  fell  asleep  in  her  youth.  The 
Nestorians  said  :  "This  holy  woman  is  too  sacred  to  be 
buried  in  the  ordinary  way."  They  tore  up  the  floors  of 
one  of  their  Nestorian  churches,  and  they  buried  her 
dust  under  the  floor  of  that  sanctuary  ;  that  whenever 
they  trod  that  floor  they  might  remember  what  a  holy 
woman  was  buried  beneath.  And  when  Mrs.  Judson,  of 
Burmah,  passed  along  the  streets,  those  poor  ignorant 
Karens  and  Burmese  would  follow  along  in  the  track  of 
her  steps,  and,  bowing  to  the  ground,  kiss  her  shadow. 
And  there  was  Roxine  Krapf,  who  followed  her  husband 
in  the  desert  places  of  Abyssinia  in  his  missionary  tours, 
herself  overshadowed  by  the  sacred  primal  sorrow  of 
her  sex.  When  she  gave  birth  to  her  child,  and  herself 
passed  av/ay,  she  left  to  that  child  the  Amharic  name  for 
a  "tear,"  and  said  to  her  husband  :  "  Bear  my  body  back 
to  the  shores  of  Africa,  that  whenever  the  people  see 
my  grave  they  may  remember  that  there  is  only  one 
Christ  for  the  living,  and  only  one  Christ  for  the  dying." 
There  must  be  something  in  this  work  that  makes  heroes 
and  martyrs.     Christianity  has  somehow  produced  her 


272  A   COLLEGE   OP'  COLLEGES. 

ripest  fruits,  and  the  ripest  fruits  of  manhood  and  wom- 
anhood, in  the  mission  field. 

Dr.  Pierson  :  Look  at  the  work  God  has  blessed. 
You  know  the  only  great  Pentecost  of  modern  history 
that  rivals  Pentecost  itself  was  in  that  work  in  India— 
the  Lone  Star  Mission  among  the  Telugus.  You  remem- 
ber the  story.  Mr.  Clough,  himself  nothing  but  a  civil 
engineer,  went  to  the  Baptist  Board  in  Boston,  and  said 
in  the  crisis  of  that  mission,  when  they  were  about  to 
give  it  up  :  "  Send  me  there,  and  God  will  give  me  10,000 
converts."  They  thought  he  was  crazy  ;  but  again  and 
again  he  said  :  "  Let  me  go,  and  God  will  give  me  10,000 
converts."  At  last  they  said  :  "  We  v/ill  make  the  ex- 
periment " — and  they  sent  him  out.  Years  passed.  The 
great  famine  of  1877  came,  and  the  people  were  v/ithout 
bread.  The  missionary  gave  himself  up  to  unremitting 
labors  in  their  interest.  He  went  to  the  Government 
and  said  :  *'  I  am  a  civil  engineer.  Now,  you  need  rail- 
roads in  this  country.  Let  me  gather  these  men  and 
set  them  to  work  on  the  roads.  You  will  pay  them  for 
their  work,  and  they  will  be  fed."  By  that  project  he 
found  employment  for  thousands.  He  gathered  them 
in  camps,  and  in  their  hours  of  rest  preached  to  them 
the  sweet,  tender  Gospel.  What  was  the  result  ?  The 
people  said  :  "  The  man  who  is  willing  to  put  himself 
to  so  much  trouble  to  find  us  bread  is  the  man  we  want 
to  hear  preaching  the  Gospel."  A  great  spiritual  har- 
vest soon  commenced.  In  1878,  in  less  than  forty  days, 
that  Baptist  mission,  under  that  single  man,  baptized 
nearly  10,000  converts,  after  rigid  examination.  There 
never  was  such  a  thing  since  the  first  Pentecost,  and 
I  don't  believe  there  was  such  a  thing  in  the  first  Pen- 
tecost. 

Dr.  Pierson:  The  clock  of  the  ages  is  ringing  out  11 


NORTHFIELD   NUGGETS.  2/3 

— J-  past  II — i  to  12 — and  the  hour  of  the  consummation 
is  drawing  nigh.  Do  you  hear  that  clock  striking  ?  I 
do  net  say  a  word  about  the  foreign  field  now  specifi- 
cally. All  I  want  of  you  gentlemen  is  that  you,  each  of 
you,  should  go  and  simply  lay  yourself  at  the  feet  of 
your  Lord  Jesus  with  hearty  self-surrender,  and  be  will- 
ing to  go  anywhere  and  do  anything  that  God  gives  you 
to  do.  There  is  an  argument  for  the  foreign  field  which 
I  beg  you  to  notice  as  I  close.  Paul  says  :  "  Yea,  so 
have  I  strived  to  preach  the  Gospel,  not  where  Christ 
was  named,  lest  I  should  build  upon  another  man's 
foundation  :  But  as  it  is  written.  To  whom  He  was  not 
spoken  of,  they  shall  see,  and  they  that  have  not  heard 
shall  understand."  V^u  cannot  go  to  any  place  in 
Christian  lands  without  building  on  another  man's  foun- 
dation.    Paul  wanted  to  go  to  the  regions  beyond,  and 

build  on  no  other  man's  foundation Every  day  is 

critical.  Not  long  ago  I  tried  to  make  a  missionary 
map  of  Africa  for  my  own  guidance.  I  was  trying  to 
trace  out  the  lines  of  modern  exploration  and  mission- 
ary work,  and  while  I  was  completing  my  task,  new  dis- 
coveries and  advances  in  Africa  so  changed  the  condi- 
tions of  my  map  that  it  was  virtually  of  no  use  to  me. 
The  maps  that  were  made  3^esterday  are  obsolete  to-day, 
and  will  be  useless  to-morrow.  The  chariot  of  God 
goes  in  these  days  with  steam — nay,  it  goes  by  the  very 
lightnings  of  heaven  ;  and  while  you  are  standing  and 
hesUating  and  dallying,  the  chariot  has  spun  so  fast  on 
its  way  and  so  far  ahead  of  you  that  you  will  have  to 
run  with  all  your  might  to  catch  up  with  one  single 
h  )ur  of  delay.  My  brethren,  make  up  your  minds  that 
you  will  do  whatever  God  calls  you  to  do,  or  go  wher- 
ever He  calls  you  to  go.  Say  with  simplicity  :  "  Dear 
Lord,  here  I  am.  Send  me." 
Mr.  Henry  Clay  Trumbull  :    I  want  to  emphasize 

12* 


2/4  A  COLLEGE   OF  COLLEGES. 

the  suggestion  that  you  would  do  well  in  reading  any 
text  of  Scripture  to  be  sure  that  you  know  the  meaning 
of  the  words  themselves,  for  unless  you  do,  you  are  not 
likely  to  understand  the  precise  meaning  in  which  any 
of  tliem  is  used  in  the  connection  in  which  you  find  it. 
I  remember  a  man  in  North  Carolina  twenty  years  ago 
who  preached  a  sermon  from  the  text,  *'  Lo,  I  come." 
"Low,"  said  he  ;  "not  high.  The  Lord  Jesus  comes  to 
the  poor  and  lowly."  Some  one  wrote  to  me  not  long 
ago  and  asked  :  "  Please  tell  us  in  what  sense  the  word 
fire  is  used  in  our  English  Bible."  After  looking  into 
the  matter  I  said  in  reply  that  there  were  at  least  thir- 
teen words  translated  by  the  English  word  fire,  and  in 
the  Old  Testament  the  range  of  meaning  of  these  words 
is  very  wide.  Take  again  one  word  we  are  using  con- 
stantly—the word  "  amen  " — in  prayer.  What  does  that 
word  mean  ?  There  is  one  thing  it  does  not  mean  :  "  So 
let  it  be."  It  does  not  mean  that,  no  matter  what  any 
dictionary,  abridged  or  unabridged,  may  say.  Going 
back  to  the  word  itself  in  the  Hebrew,  and  going  yet 
farther  to  the  word  as  it  is  still  found  in  the  Arabic,  we 
find  that  it  means  "  So  it  will  beT  In  other  words,  it  is 
not  another  pleading  cry  at  the  end  of  a  prayer  ;  it  is  an 
expression  of  trust  in  the  One  to  whom  the  prayer  is 
offered.  There  is  a  great  deal  of  prayer  without  faith. 
I  was  in  an  insane  asylum  at  one  time — of  course  as  a 
visitor.  I  have  been  in  jail  three  times  as  a  prisoner; 
but  that  was  when  Dr.  Broadus  and  myself  were  not  on 
the  same  platform.  I  remember  the  first  time  I  was  in 
battle.  At  the  close  of  that  day — it  was  the  Lord's  day 
— in  the  hospital,  a  Baptist  Sunday-school  teacher  who 
was  an  officer  in  our  regiment,  and  a  South  Carolina 
officer  joined  together  and  prayed  for  themselves  and 
for  each  other.  Both  were  severely,  and  I  thmk  mor- 
tally wounded.     Those  two  soldiers,  who  had  been  a  few 


NORTHFIELD   NQGGF.TS.  2/5 

hours  before  in  mortal  combat,  now  joined  in  loving 
sympathy  in  love  to  Christ.  [A  Voice — Tell  us  about 
Libby  Prison.]  When  I  was  in  Libby  Prison,  an  order 
came  that  one  person  was  to  be  released.  Every  one 
wished  and  hoped  that  he  was  the  one.  When  the  in- 
spector came  in  the  morning  and  the  name  was  called 
out,  "  Chaplain  H.  C.  Trumbull,"  I  can  assure  you  I 
never  valued  my  name  as  I  did  at  that  moment.  Com- 
ing back  to  being  in  the  insane  asylum  :  There  was  one 
man  there  constantly  asking  for  his  dinner.  He  kept 
saying  :  "  Dr.  Butler,  I  wish  I  could  have  some  dinner 
to-day.  Doctor,  I  am  afraid  I  shall  not  have  any  dinner. 
Doctor — Doctor — can't  I  have  some  dinner  to-day?" 
*' Yes,  sir,"  said  the  Doctor;  "you  can  have  your  din- 
ner." "Doctor,  can't  I  have  my  dinner  to-day?  Can't 
I  have  my  dinner  ?  Doctor — Doctor — Doctor — dinner  ! 
— dinner  ! — dinner  !  "  Then  the  door  closed.  Now  that 
was  in  a  certain  sense  making  known  his  wants,  but 
there  was  none  of  the  true  spirit  of  prayer  in  it.  And 
yet  this  word  is  used  as  a  final  cry — "  So  let  it  be."  On 
the  other  hand,  that  one  word  in  the  Hebrew,  which  is 
really  transferred  to  the  "  amen,"  as  we  have  it  here,  is 
the  very  word  employed  with  reference  to  Abraham 
when    it  is    said:    "And    he    believed  (V'^^^n"!)  i^   ^^^ 

Lord,  and  He  counted  it  to  him  for  righteousness."  I 
had  occasion  several  years  ago  to  work  this  out  in  the 
line  of  my  studies.  When  I  went  to  the  Arabic  and 
Syrian  scholars,  they  declared  themselves  unable  to  give 
the  full  meaning  of  the  word  because  there  v;as  so  much 
in  it.  One  man  said  when  I  asked  him  :  "Well,  it  means 
so  much  I  can  hardly  tell  you  how  much  it  means.  It 
means  that  if  you  so  believe  in  a  man  that  3^ou  lean  on 
him,  and  you  give  yourself  up  wholly,  and  go  right  into 
him,  and  be  a  part  of  himself,  and  you  will  trust  him 


276  A   COLLEGE   OF  COLLEGES. 

because  he  is  to  be  trusted,  and  you  can't  help  trusting 
him — all  that  v/ill  give  you  some  idea  of  what  is  in  that 
word  *  amen.' "  At  the  end  of  a  prayer  in  that  sense,  it 
means  far  more  than  as  we  ordinarily  use  it.  I  met  an 
old  soldier  of  the  great  Napoleon,  and  I  asked  him 
about  his  Emperor.  "  Ah,"  said  he,  "  we  believed  in 
Napoleon.  You  Christians  believe  in  God  We  be- 
lieved in  Napoleon.  If  Emperor  Napoleon  say  to  his 
soldiers,  *  Napoleon,  go  to  the  moon,*  they  would  start. 
Napoleon  fight  the  moon." 

Prof.  Townsend  :  There  is  nothing  unworthy  in  the 
statement  that  a  great  fish  swallowed  Jonah  without  in 
the  least  mutilating  him.  One  should  bear  in  mind, 
while  reading  this  part  of  the  story,  that  the  Hebr-ew 
words,  well  translated  in  the  common  version,  "prepared 
a  great  fish,"  do  not  mean  that  God  created  a  fish  for 
the  specific  purpose  of  swallowing  Jonah  ;  but  the  literal 
meaning  is,  that  God  allotted  or  appointed  a  great  fish 
to  swallow  Jonah  ;  or  in  modern  speech,  one  would  say, 
that,  by  the  providence  of  God,  the  fish  was  brought  to 
the  ship's  side  at  the  precise  time  Jonah  was  thrown 
overboard,  and  did  under  the  circumstances  precisely 
what  was  natural  for  a  fish  to  do, — swallowed  Jonah. 
The  word  ("y^),  translated  into  both  the  Septuagint  and 
the  New  Testament  by  the  Greek  word  ^afos  (jir/ro-), 
means  simply  a  sea-monster ;  and  this  word  uffto^,  bear 
in  mind,  was  the  word  used  by  our  Lord  in  His  refer- 
ences to  this  account  of  Jonah  (Matt.  xii.  39-41  ;  comp. 
Matt.  xvi.  4  ;  Luke  xi.  29-32).  So  far,  therefore,  as  the 
Hebrew  and  the  Greek  words  are  concerned,  the  fish 
may  have  been  a  whale,  or  a  shark,  or  a  sea-serpent,  or 
it  may  have  been  any  other  large  monster  of  the  deep. 
Hence,  we  repeat,  there  is  nothing  incredible  in  the 
statement  that  Jonah,  upon  being  thrown  into  the  sea, 
was  quicklv  overtaken  by  a  sea-monster,  and  swallowed 


NORTHFIELD   NUGGETS.  277 

without  suffering  any  form  of  mutilation,  provided  the 
sea-monster  was  large  enough.  Now,  it  is  a  well-known 
fact,  that  the  waters  through  which  a  vessel  in  sailing 
from  Joppa  to  any  Spanish  port  would  pass  were  fre- 
quented, in  early  times,  by  a  species  of  shark  called  the 
sea-dog  {Cams  carchafias),  having  a  throat  large  enough 
to  swallow  a  man  whole.  The  French  naturalist,  Lace- 
pbde,  in  his  "Histoire  des  Poissons,"  states  that  sea-dogs 
"  have  a  lower  jaw  of  nearly  six  feet  in  semicircular  ex- 
tent," which  "  enables  us  to  understand  how  they  can 
swallow  entire  animals  as  large  as,  or  larger  than,  our- 
selves." Blumenbach,  the  eminent  German  zoologist,  in 
his  "  Manual  of  Natural  History,"  is  authority  for  the 
additional  facts,  that  sea-dogs  have  been  taken  weighing 
five  tons,  and  that  a  horse  has  been  found  whole  in  the 
stomach  of  a  sea-dog  (see  also  Annals  of  Nat.  Hist.,  Oct., 
1862,  p.  277).  And  Pliny,  in  the  first  century,  50  a.d., 
gives  an  account  of  the  skeleton  of  a  sea-monster  forty 
feet  in  length,  whose  ribs  v;ere  higher  than  those  of  the 
Indian  elephant.  This  skeleton,  Pliny  says, "  was  brought 
from  Joppa,  a  city  of  Judea,  and  exhibited  in  Rome  by 
M.  Scaurus"  (Plin.,  Hist.  Nat.,  I.  ix.,  c.  4). 

Dr.  Munhall  :  There  never  was  a  time  in  the  history 
of  the  world  when  there  were  so  numerous  and  import- 
ant calls  to  the  work  of  the  Gospel.  Some  of  you,  per- 
haps, are  like  Moses,  who  when  called  to  undertake  a 
great  work  laid  upon  him,  took  counsel  of  his  fears. 
What  does  God  say  through  Isaiah  ?  "  Say  to  them  that 
are  of  a  fearful  heart,  be  strong."  You  are  not  to  take 
counsel  of  your  fears,  but  put  your  confidence  and  trust 
in  the  Lord  that  made  heaven  and  earth.  I  came  out  of 
the  yearly  meeting  of  the  Indiana  Society  of  Friends 
one  day,  and  I  found  standing  on  the  steps  my  old 
friend,  Oliver  White,  a  man  who  never  weighed  more 
than  ninety  pounds,  but  a  man  of  great  heart  and  great 


278  A  COLLEGE   OF  COLLEGES. 

mind — educated  over  here  at  Amherst.  As  we  greeted 
each  other,  he  laid  his  hands  upon  my  shoulders  and 
felt  the  muscles  of  my  arms.  Said  he  :  "  Munhall,  I 
would  to  God  I  had  your  physical  powers,  because  I 
have  such  large  purposes  ;  but  I  am  so  weak  physically 
that  I  can't  do  the  work  I  should  b*e  glad  to  do  if  I  had 
the  strength."  I. said  :  "  Oliver,  hov/  big  a  man  do  you 
think  Samson  was  ? "  "  Well,"  said  he  ;  "I  think  he  was 
about  six  feet  across  the  shoulders  and  about  fourteen 
feet  high,  with  muscle  on  muscle,  .layer  on  layer." 
"  Why,"  said  I,  "  my  dear  brother  ;  that  is  abominable 
legalism— to  suppose  that  Samson  did  the  woik  and 
that  the  Lord  had  nothing  to  do  with  it.  I  don't  know 
where  y^'cu  ever  got  that  idea,  unless  from  some  artist's 
brush.  There  is  nothing  in  the  Bible  to  show  that  he 
might  not  have  been  the  puniest,  scrawniest  individual 
in  all  Jerusalem — no  bigger  than  you.  It  was  the  power 
of  God  in  him  that  did  the  Vv^ork.  It  wasn't  Samson 
that  did  it,  except  as  he  was  the  willing  instrument.'* 
That  is  the  trouble.  Men  will  take  counsel  of  their 
fears.  I  remember  a  war  incident  that  will  illustrate 
the  point  I  wish  to  make.  The  nth  Indiana  Regiment 
in  the  Army  of  the  Mississippi  was  engaged  under  Grant 
at  Vicksburgh.  They  had  seen  very  hard  service.  Their 
ranks  were  badly  decimated.  Governor  Morton  sent  up 
a  lot  of  recruits.  Among  them  was  a  young  fellow — a 
big,  strapping,  manly  boy — by  the  nam.e  of  Peter  Apple. 
During  the  siege  of  Vicksburgh  a  certain  outwork  had 
to  be  taken,  and  the  nth  Indiana  was  detailed  to  under- 
take the  business.  The}^  formed  in  the  edge  of  a  A-^ood 
near  an  open  field.  On  the  top  of  a  hill  was  this  out- 
work. At  daylight  the  word  of  command  was  given. 
They  sprang  forward,  and  the  enemy  opened  a  wither- 
ing, galling  fire  upon  them.  The  men  fell  right  and 
left.     The  ranks  wavered,  were  broken  in  confusion,  and 


NORTHFIELD   NUGGETS.  2/9 

fell  back  to  the  cover  of  the  woods.  Peter  didn't  hear 
the  order  to  fall  back,  but  kept  on  going  right  to  the 
top  of  the  hill.  A  Confederate  gunner  was  ramming  a 
charge  home  in  the  piece  he  was  firing,  and  was  leaning 
out  of  the  embrasure.  Peter  struck  him  across  the  head 
w^ith  his  gun,  which  stunned  the  gunner  ;  and  then  Pe- 
ter,-dropping  his  piece,  sprang  into  the  embrasure,  and 
seizing  this  fellow  by  the  coat-collar,  pulled  him  out 
and  marched  him  off  dowm  hill,  a  prisoner.  The  Con- 
federates didn't  dare  to  fire  on  Peter,  for  fear  of  killing 
their  own  man.  By  the  time  he  got  to  the  foot  of  the 
hill,  Colonel  "Dan"  McAuley  had  re-formed  his  men. 
Seeing  Peter  coming  with  the  prisoner,  he  said  :  "  Peter, 
where  in  the  world  did  you  get  that  man  ? "  Said  Peter : 
"  I  just  got  him  up  on  the  hill,  and  there  are  lots  of 
them  up  there.  Every  one  of  you  could  have  had  one 
if  you  had  kept  on  going." 


CATALOGUE    OF    DELEGATES. 


COLLEGE    STUDENTS. 


Name. 

College. 

Class 

Residence. 

MAINE. 
H   S  Worthley.              

Bates 

Bowdoin 

.^9 
^9 
89 

'89 

'89 

^9 
41 

^^l 
'89 
'88 
'90 

;? 

90 
'89 

'88 

'89 

41 

'89 
'92 

'88 
'89 
'83 
'89 
'88 
'90 
'88 

•r, 

'88 

Strong,  Me. 

C   F    Hersey 

North  Waterford,  Me. 

Herbert  M<^rrill 

Gray,  Me. 

Edward  P.  Stearns 

Hugh  R.  Hatch 

NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 
W   D    Baker 

(« 

Colby             

Islesford,  Me. 

Dartmouth 

Farmington  Falls,  Me. 

David  N.  Blakely 

07ora  S    Davis        .       ... 

Campton,  N.  H. 

it 

White  River  June,  Vt. 

S    G    Fmer'^on. 

ii 

Kennebunk  Port,  Me. 

"           

Strafford,  Vt. 

George  S   Miller            

Rochester,  N.  H. 

Fred.  R.  Shapleigh 

VERMONT. 
William  L.  Raub 

u 

Great  Falls,  N.  H. 

St.  Johnsbury  Acad'y. 
Troy  Confer'ce  Acad'y 
University  of  Vermont. 

Vermont  Academy 

Amherst 

New  London,  Conn. 

Sherman  Rouse 

D   F    Croft 

Stuyvesant,  N,  Y. 
Enosburgh  Falls,  Vt. 
Underbill,  Vt. 

Carlisle  F    Ferrin.... 

Essex  Junction,  Vt. 
Richford,  Vt. 

Waller  D.  Parsons 

Ralph  W.  Wilbur 

L.  G.  Ketchum 

MASSACHUSETTS. 

H.V.  Ames 

Edward  A.  Appleton 

Henry  C.  Bemis   

Burlington,  Vt. 
Cambridge,  N.  Y. 

Thompson,  Conn. 
Springfield,  Mass. 
Worcester,  Mass. 

W.  D    li^^clow  . 

Gardner,  Kan. 

Palmer,  Mass. 

W    E'^  f^hancellor    .  . 

H    L   Cla-k 

Amherst,  Mass. 

W.  E   Clark     

Chicago,  111. 

Bulgaria, 

North  Brookfield,  Mas*. 

William  R  Clarke 

Henry  A   Cooke          .... 

;;    

T.  R.  Danforth 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Wm.  Horace  Day 

H    W.  Dickerman 

Ottawa,  111. 

Chicago,  111. 
Danvers,  Mass. 
Westfield,  Mass. 

Charles  E.  Ewing    

W   B.  Greenough 

F   M    Holt                         ..    . 

Edward  P  Holton            .    . 

it 

Everett,  Mass. 

DaviJ  L   Kebe 

Holliston,  ?»Iass. 

(280) 


CATALOGUE  OF  DELEGATES. 


281 


Name. 

College. 

Clas.s 

Residence. 

Am 

Bos 
Ha 

'89 

'^ 

'88 
'88 
'89 

•tl 

'87 
'88 

'^7 
'87 
'87 
'88 
'88 

'88 
'88 
'88 
'88 

'$ 

'87 
'88 
'88 
'88 
'87 
'88 

i 

'90 

»88 
.88 
'88 
,89 

♦90 

'90 

91 
'90 
'89 

90 
'90 

*85 

Erie,  Pa. 

Walter  F   Skeele 

Augusta,  Me. 

(k 

Albany.  N.  Y. 
Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 
Amher  t,  Mass. 
HoUiston,  Mass. 

ti 

Edwaul  H.  Waldo 

E,  C.  Whiiing 

H    H    Willcox: 

"         

(i 

Maiden,  Mass. 

Hmer  R.  Strain 

J    W    Dudley                 

ton  University 

Columbus  Grove,  O. 
Warsaw,  N.  Y. 

HairisG.  Hale.'    

Salem.  Mass. 
Newark,  N.  J. 

ti 

Calvin  G.  Page 

H.  E.  Peabody 

Alonzo  R.  Weed 

ii 

ii 

Princeton,  Me. 

li 

Fred.  H.  Fowler 

Mass.  Agricult'l  Coll... 
Sch.forChr  Workers'. 

North  Hadley,  Mass. 

Y.  Mishima 

L.  W.  Allen 

'J.  T.  Bowne 

Amherst,  Mass. 
Albany,  N.  Y. 
Springfield.  Mass, 
Albany,  N.  Y. 
Guilford,  Conn. 
Detroit,  Mich. 
Fall  River.  Ma.ss. 

C.  A.  iJrown,  Jr 

W.  H.  Leete 

Albert  G.  Shepard 

A.  W.  Buck     

Wil 

George  V/.  Clark 

Trov.  N.  Y. 
Beverly,  N.  J. 
Oxford,  Me. 

Paul  A   Cocn              

E   S.  Ellis    

Boon  Itt ■. 

Bangkok,  Sinm. 
Jaffrey.  N.  H. 
Marlborough,  N.  H. 
Gllead   Conn. 

Stephen  T.  Livingston 

E.W.Phillips 

J.  S.  Porter    

George  L.  Richardson 

Arthur  T.  Safford 

;;    

Troy,  N.  Y. 
Williamstown,  Mass. 

E.J,  1  ho  mas 

Utica   N.  Y. 

D.  I".  Van  Gieson 

irooklyn,N.  Y. 
Waterveliet  Ccn.,  N.  Y. 

G  Van  Vrankeu 

11         y 

Williston  Seminary   . . 

Worcester  Tech'l  Inst 
Worcester  Academy. . . 

David  L.  Gale 

Henry  C.  Brown 

Arthur  K.  Field    

Charles  F.  Bailey 

Meriden,  Conn. 
New  Haven.  Conn, 
New  Bo<iton.  I\Iass. 
W^orcester,  Mass. 

Edward  S.  Frary    

F.  D.  Holdsworth 

Jonesville,  Vt.  ' 
Warren,  Mass. 

George  F.  Myers 

New  York.  N.  Y. 
Holyoke,  Mass. 
N.  Grosvenor  Dale,  Ct. 
Webster  Mass. 

George  J.  Briggs 

A.  M.  Johnson 

RHODE   ISLAND. 

John  L.  Alger 

Alfred  P.  Bond       

Bro 

wn  University 

%                    n 

•• 

Bellows  Falls,  Vt. 
Wethersfield,  Conn. 

George  S.  Brown 

).  E.Bullen 

S    S.  Colvin    

Providence,  R.  I. 
Pawtucket,  R.  I. 
River  Point    R.  I. 

Edward  P.  Manning 

Raynham,  Mass. 
Pawtucket.  R.  I. 

H.'F.  Perry 

George  Porter 

J.  B.  Porter 

Orman  E.  Ryther 

Bridgeport,  Conn. 
Newton  U.  Falls,  M^s 

Erving  Y.  Wooley 

Pau  tucket,  R   I. 

282 


CATALOGUE  OF  DELEGATES. 


Name. 

College. 

Class 

Residence. 

CONNECTICUT. 

V/illiam  L.  Clarke 

C-eorge  M.  liuglies 

Po'^ert  S.  Ingrabam 

A,  Kanayama              

Wesleyan  University  . . 

11                 (I          " 
Yale V. 

'88 

'$ 

89 
89 

89 
'87 

'86 

'87 
88 

\^) 
,90 

:?B 
,89 
,87 

i^ 

89 

'88 

'89 
'87 

'87 
'87 
'90 

'83 
'83 
'83 
'89 
'89 
'88 
;83 
'90 
'89 
'89 
'88 

'88 

;s9 

93 

•89 

90 

'89 
;9o 
90 

go 
'Sq 

Pawling,  Ky. 
Orange,  N.  J. 
Brookly  1,  N.  Y. 
Tukio,  Japan. 
Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

H.  F.  ManHaville 

Edward  E.  Pixley    

Herbert  Welch 

h.  R    Abbe.  Jr 

TohnW.  Ranks 

l^ester  Bradner,  Jr 

Leyden.  Mass. 
New  York,  N.  Y. 
Hartford,  Conn. 
Guilford,        " 
New  tiaven,  Conn 

S.  Colgate,  Jr 

n      

Orange,  N.  J. 

W.  II.  Corbin    

I' 

H.  P.  Farnhatn   

Palmyra,  N.  Y. 
Pouohkeepsie,  N.  Y. 
New  York,  N.  Y. 

Henry  F.  Fowler. 

Chauncey  W.  Goodrich 

H.  S.  Hart 

11 

D.  A.  Hudson   

11 

Wakefield,  Mass 

Cbarles  1''.  Kent    

It 

Palmvra,  N.  Y 

T.  J.°Lloyd    

it 

Brick  Church.  N.  J. 
New  Haven,  Conn. 
New  Rocl.elle   N   Y. 

Duncan  S.  Mcrwin 

n 

George  D.  Petter 

(t 

Sharon,  Mass. 

Arthur  I.  Phelps 

Wilii^m  L.  Phelps   

(( 

ii 

H    U  Reed 

J.  B.  Reynolds,  A.B., '84... 

G.  B.  Richards 

Henry  J.  Sage      

"    Divinity 

Manchester,  Vt. 
North  Haven,  Conn. 
New  Haven,  Conn. 
Cincinnati    O 

Frank  R.  i;hipman 

William  P.  Taylor  

Auburn  Theo.  Sem'y.. 
Cazenovia  Seminary . 
CoirgeofCityof  N.  Y. 
Colgate  Academy 

»4                           14 
44                           44 

14                           (4 

44                              t( 

Columbia 

Hartford,  Conn. 
Scuthbridge,  Mass. 

Clark's  Mills,  N.  Y. 
h;ch:.ghticoke,     *' 
New  York            " 

NE^y  YORK. 

Leslie  R.  Graves 

W.  H.  Baker 

Frtd.  I..  Lucjiieer 

BInghamton,      " 
Attica,                  '» 

Charles  A.  Lemon 

Chailes  H.  Maxson   

Henry  S.  Potter 

Hornellsville,     " 
Garbage, 
Schaghticoke,     " 
Albany,                 •♦ 
Newark,  N.  J. 
Brooklyn    N    Y 

Hugh  T.  Stevenson 

Huijh  T.  Stevenson 

William  A    Wood 

Frank  H.  Field               

J.  F.  INTcKernon 

Fred.  WiUets 

G.  Winthrop  Ames 

Cambridge,  N.  Y. 

Cornell 

Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 
East  Dorset,  Vt. 

Huron,  N.  Y. 

H.  A.  iMacNeil 

Kansf-rd  S.  Miller,  Jr 

Bert.  H.  Moiehouse 

44        ' 

Chelsea,  Mass. 
Ithaca,  N.  Y. 
Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 
Ithaca,' N.  Y. 

Willian  K.  Reece 

44 

Joi'.n  F.  Skinner  .. 

44 

R;. Chester    N.  Y 

H.  C.  Stanclitt  .          

4( 

Spencer,  N.  Y. 

i\e\v  Woodstock.  N.  Y 

Daniel  Uptoa 

rig  Rapids,  Mich. 
Stcrlinc,  N.  Y. 

William  U.  Crockett 

Frederick  Perkms    

Lock  Haven,  Pa. 

CATALOGUE  OF  DELEGATES. 


283 


Name. 

College. 

Class 

Reside.vce. 

Robert  B.  Perine. 

Hamilton 

'83 

;89 
,91 
90 
90 

'88 

1 

'88 

:«? 

QO 
'39 

'89 

'S8 

'88 
'88 

'83 

•r, 

'88 
'89 

'II 
'83 
'89 
'88 

'89 
90 
90 

^9 
87 
'88 
'87 
89 
'87 

11^ 
89 
90 
90 

il 
•90 
90 

91 
'90 

Syracuse.  N.  Y. 
Clinton.  N.  Y. 
Guildeiland  Sta'n,  N.V. 
Bin'^hamton    N    Y 

Carl  W.  Scovel 

F.  Hilton.     

F.  H.  Divine 

Hartwick  Seminary 

Madison 

George  L.  Hibbard 

George  F.  W.-odbury 

Prof.  J.  H.  Gilmore 

\V   C   Wilcov 

Southbrid.^e,  Mass. 

Rochester 

Rochester,          '| 

George  S.  Benedict 

Myron  S.  Reed    

W.  C.  Burdick        

Greece,                *' 

Syracuse  

Holly,       ^          " 
Crown  Point,     " 
Brooklyn, 
Troy, 

Newark,  N.  J. 
Troy,  N.  Y. 
Schenectady,  N.  Y. 
Newark,               " 
Cohoes.                " 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
New  York,  N.  Y. 
New  Brunswick,  N.  J. 

French  town,  N.  J. 
Brooklyn,  N.Y. 
Newark.  N.  J. 
New  York,  N.Y. 
Port  Hyron,     " 
\ewYork,       " 
Cleveland,  O. 
Montclair,  N.  J. 
Albany.  Ore. 
L^pencer,  N.  Y. 
i  linceton,  N.  J. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 

fL-'rtfr.id,  Conn. 
Bedford,  Pa. 
New  Orleans,  La. 
I'rooklyn,  N.  Y, 
Troy,  N.  Y. 
Kennebunk  Port,  Me. 
Philadelphia.  Pa. 
B.iltimore,  Md. 
'vVest  Hebron,  M.  Y. 
New  York,  N.  Y. 
Perrineville,  N.  J. 
Montclair,        " 
Wasiington,  D.  C. 
Safathu,  India. 
Huuson,  N.  Y. 
I.iardiner,  N.  Y. 
South  Schodach,  N.  Y. 
Sa  ramenio,  Cal. 
Flushing,  N    Y. 
Boonton,  N.  J. 
Nev.-  Brunswick,  N.  J. 
Sau^-rties,  N.  Y. 
New  Brunswick,  N.  J. 

Coahnwn,  Pa. 

F,  V    Fisher 

Howard  A.  Pickering  

Fred.  N.  Rutan      

Fdward  B.  Coburn 

John  C    Kno\- 

E.  V.  Peir-;on           

Troy  Academy 

Union  Theo.  Sem'y  ... 
Union 

R.  H.  Washburne  ...    

William  C.  Gricgs..      .    . 

Univ.   of  City  of  N.Y. 

Blair  Presby'l  Acad'y.. 
Centenary  Coll    Inst... 

Newark  Academy 

Princeton 

Luther  G-iHck.: 

F.  Woodbridge 

NKW  JERSEY. 

E.  A.  Louv 

lames  K.  Byrne 

Albert  D.  Baldwin 

F.  G.  Beebe  

Collins  P.  Bliss       

John  ^L  Brooks  

Russell  Carter       

James  )    Charlton 

C.  B.  Crafts                .... 

ji          

W.  H.  Forsyth 

L.  S    Fu'nier 

11 

(I 

H.  W.  Haring .. 

S.  C.  Hodge. 

^Vi;liam  M.  Irvine 

^^            

«.i 

J.  C.  Morris,  Jr 

Howard  McWiUiams 

Fred    Neher 

u 

"             

It 

li 

Edward  VV.  Rand 

n             

J.  F.  Talcott, 

I.  L.  Van  Shoick 

ic 

::    ::.-..:.::: 

How ard  C.  Warren 

Francis  H.  White    

J.  E.  WyckoflT 

Rutgers 

C.  B.  Benson 

Howard  h  tting 

il 

G.  J.  Folmshee 

Reid  F.  Miller 

R.  F.  Parsons    

S.  W.  Righ.'er       ... 

V/.arren  R.  .Schenck 

Henry  J.  Scudder 

fames  C.  Stour 

Pr::NNSVLVANL\. 
J.  i\T.  Dob -on  . 

Allegheny    

284 


CATALOGUE   OF  DELEGATES. 


Name. 


J.  D.  Minick,. 
C.  H.  Batley.. 
I).  H,  Overton 
W.  A.  Price... 
H.  R.  Saike... 


MARYLAND. 

F,  L.  Norton 

J.  B.  Whaley 


VIRGINIA. 

Charles  Gauss 

J.  Ames . 

C.  Buffington..  .. 


L 
•P, 
T,  B.  Crawshaw 

K.  C.  Howi>,on 

William  L.  Old 

H.  R.  Pombcrton 

Prof.  William  W.  Smith 

B.  F.  Hopkins 

R.  C.  Yancey 


NORTH  CAROLINA. 
Charles  E.  Taylor 


KENTUCKY. 

S.  C.  Mitchell 

W.  V.  Macfee    

Charles  H.  Nash 


TENNESSEE. 

Samuel  Crook 

W.  W.  Martine 


OHIO. 
George  D.  Rogers , 

C.  B.  Alspach 

Walter  G.  Beach  . . 

C.  E.  Corwin 

T.D.Wood  


INDIANA. 
Palmer  S.  Hurlbert.. 


ILLINOIS. 
Wallace  F.  Grosvenor 

James  G.  Russell 

George  N.  Taylor 

Theodore  Harley  .... 
P.  lievis 


IOWA. 


J.  E.  Brynn 

I.  B.  Schreckengost .. 

MICHIGAN. 

Alba  A.  Glovier 

John  R.  Meade 


College. 


Bucknell .. 
Haverford , 
Lafayette  . 


Pennsylvania. 


Johns  Hopkins. .. . 
Western  Maryland. 


Fairfax  Theo.  Sem'y 
Randolph-Macon 


Royalton  Institute 


Wake  Forest 


Georgetown 

Soth'u  Bap.  Theo.  S'y- 


Grant  Memorial 
Vanderbilt 


Denison  . .. 
Heidelberg. 
Marietta  ... 


Oberlin 
D.  C.  Davison Wooster 


Wabash 


Illinois. 


Knox 

State  Normal 

University  of  Illinois. 


State  University. 
Iowa  Wesleyan   . 


Hillsdale 


Class 


'89 


spec'l 


'88 
'87 


'86 


Residence. 


Fayetteville,  Pa. 
Providence,  R.  I, 
Bayport,  N.  Y. 
Sunny  Brook,  Md. 
Japan. 


Westfield,  Mass. 
WhaleyviUe,  Va. 


Fairfax,  Va. 
Belleville,  Va. 
Huntington,  West  Va. 
Ashland,  Va. 

Belleville,  " 
Richmond,  Va. 
Ashland,  Va. 
Oxford,  N.  C. 
Royalton,  Va. 


Galveston,  Tex. 
Red  House,  Va. 
Louisville,  Ky. 


Baltimore,  Md. 
Nashville,  Tenn. 


Granville,  O. 
rhornville,  O. 
Marietta,  O. 
Cutchogue,  N. 
Sycamore,  111. 
Ionia,  Mich. 


Y. 


Newbury  port.  Mass 


Chicago,  111. 
Jacksonville,  11 
Creston,  la. 
Elwood,  111. 
Virginia,  " 


Panora,  la. 
Keota,  la. 


Franconia,  N.  H. 
Providence.  R.  I. 


CATALOGUE  OF  DELEGATES. 


285 


Name. 


R.  C.  Fenner.     

George  K.  Hunt 

E.  O.  Mead    

Arthur  M.  Hussey.. . . 

MINNESOTA. 

F.  L.  Kendall 

Cliarles  1  lunkett 

William  B.  Morris  ... 

MISSOURI. 

G.  M.  Morrison    ...    . 

NEBRASKA. 
Winthrop  Allison 

CANADA. 
Alexander  Manson  ... 

David  J.  Evans 

John  A.  Rcddon  .     .. 

Thomas  15.  Scott 

W.J.  Hall 

S.J.Arthur  

William  H.  Harvey... 

H.  F.  Laflamme 

William  V.  Wright... 

A.  H.  Young 

William  Cassidy     . . . . , 
G.  Le  LPcheur,  M.D. 

ENGLAND. 

A.  C.  Macgregor , 

R.  A.  Scott  Macfee     . 


College. 


Kalamazoo 

Olivet 

University  of  Michigan 

Carleton 

Univer'y  of  Minnesota. 

Drury 

State  University      ..  .. 


Knox 

McGill 

Queen's 

Royal 

Toronto  Paptist. .. 
"        University 

Trinity  Medical  .  . 
University  College 

Cambridge 


Class 


Residence. 


Marlette,  Mich. 
Olivet,  Mich. 

North  Berwick,  Me. 


Dunstable.  Mass. 
Ridgewood,  N.  J. 
Montclair,        '' 


Franklin  Falls,  N.  H. 


Lincoln,  Neb. 


Brooksdale,  Ont. 
Montreal,  Que. 
Mildmay,  Ont. 
llelieviile,     " 
Glen  Huell,  " 
Cobourg,       " 
Newry,  " 

West  Winchester,  Ont. 
Pickering,  Ont. 
Toronto.  Ont. 
New  York,  N.  Y. 


Eray,  Ireland, 
Birkenhead,  Eng. 


SECRETARIES   AND   OTHER   EMPLOYES   OF 
YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATIONS. 


Name. 


Richard  C.  Morse 

L.  D.  Wishard 

C.  K.  Ober 

Erskine  Uhl 

George  A.  Hall 

Miss  Nettie  Dunn 

T.  P.  Day 

W.  H.  Symonds.., 
George  M.  Stowell 
A.  H.  Whitford  ., 
T.  T.  Hazlewood. 
Edward  Duryee  ... 
George  M.  Eusey. 
John  H.  Whan..., 
Arthur  G.  Lund.,, 
M.  H.  Purrington 


Title. 


Gen.  Sec,  of  Inter'I  Com. 
Coll.    "    ''       '•  "   . 

Office  "    "        •' 
State  Secretary  of  N.  Y. . 
Nat.  Sec'yofY.W.  C.  A 
General  Secretary 

Associate  Gen.  Secretary 
Assistant      "            " 
General  Secretary 

Assistant  Gen.  Secretary 


Address. 


New  York  City. 


Chicago,  III. 
Auburn,  Me. 
Keene,  N.  H. 
Boston.  Mass. 
Cambridge.  Mass. 
Haverhill, 
Newbnryport, " 
North  Adams," 
Salem.  " 

Springfield,      " 
Providence,  R.  I. 


286 


CATALOGUE   OF   DELEGATES. 


Name. 

Title. 

Address. 

Robert  F.  True 

George  W.  Tolley 

Frnnk  \V.  Ober.      

William  A.  Mno-ee     

General  Secretary   

Assistant  Gen.  Sec'y 

General  Secretary 

Superintendent  Gymna'm 

General  Secretary   

A!^sistant  Gen    Sec'y..    .. 

General  Secretary 

A>,sistant  Gen.  bec'y  .   .. 

General  Secretary 

Assistant  Gen.  Sec'y  .... 

General  Secret.iry 

Assistant  Gen.  Sec'y  ..... 
Superintendent  Gymna'm 
General  Secretary      .... 

Assistant  Gen.  Sec'y 

Superintendent  Gymna'm 
General  Secretary' 

Assistant  Gen.  Sec'y  ... 
General  Secretary  

New  London,  Conn. 
Waterhury.  Conn. 
Albany,  N.  Y. 

William  A.  WiUetts 

F.dwin  F.  See 

W.C    Nichols 

Joseph  r..  Ferguson 

E.  G.  Lane 

R.  li.  M  c    urney 

Brooklyn,   " 
l;uff..lo,       " 
Greenpoint,  N.  Y. 
Lansiiigburgh,  N.  Y. 
New  York  Ciiy,  N    Y. 

M    I    Van  Guysling. 

Yorkville  Rr..  C'y  N.  Y. 

Christian  Gaul 

John  T.  S«ift 

John  H.  Manning 

G.  T.  Thompson 

Samuel  G.  McConaughy 

F    B   Stevenson.           .... 

Yonkers,  N.  Y. 
Orange.  N.  J. 
Plainfield,  N.  J. 
Trenton,  N   J. 
North'st  F.r.,Phila.,Pa. 
Warren    Pa. 

H.  K.  Coskey 

G.  F.  Sawtelle 

Cleveland,  O. 

T.  H.  Wells 

T.  W.  Macgregor                     .... 

R.R.  Br.,  Cleveland,  O. 
Toledo,  O. 

R.  L.  Weston    

St.  Paul.  Minn. 

V.  N.  Johnson 

Georo-e  E.  Williams.         

Fargo,  Uak. 
Peterborough,  Ont. 
Montreal,  Que. 
Glasgow,  Scot. 

D.  Fr Johnson  

William  M.  Oatts 

GENERAL. 


Name. 


F.W.  Sandford 

Edward  Cabcock 

Cieorge  H.  (jriffin 

Henry  VV.  Lane 

Edward  V/.  Qa'KCS 

F.J.  Ward 

P.  McMillan 

Charles  A.  Smith 

N.  \V.  Alger... 

James  F   Brodie 

F.  R.  Fletcher 

C.  M.Clark 

Ralph     I.  Ober 

C.  Cohon  Kimball.    ... 

D.  .4.  Smith 

Mrs.  George  M.  Stowell 

Lenjamin  W.  Ward 

A.  A.  Ewing 

George  H.  Ewing 
L.  S.  G.xies 
Ira  A.  Smith 
J.  P.  Dickerman 
D.  H.  Newton 
F.  B.    lowne  . 
George  M.  Weed 
F.  J.  Barber 


Vocation. 


Minister  . . 
Merchant. 


Minister 


Merchant, 
Minister  . . 


Minister . . 


Address, 


Bowdoinham,  Me. 
Kecne,  N.  H. 


Manchester,  N.  H. 
Sanbornton,      *' 
Bar  re,  Vt. 

Bellows'  Falls,  Vt. 
Woodstock.  Vt. 
Amherst,  Mass. 
Andover,       " 
Beverly, 
Boston,         " 


Danvers,       " 

Deerfield.      " 
Kwing,  " 

Fo.\borcugh.  Mass. 
Holyokt,  Mass. 

Newton,        " 
North  Adams,  Mass. 


CATALOGUE  OF  DELEGATES. 


287 


Name, 

Vocation. 

AdDRES:. 

Merchant 

C    K    Milbrd        

W    E    Pacti'^on 

11                      41                 n 

Merchant. 

U                      (C                 ti 

Chailes  De  Wolfe        

it                 ii             ti 

George  H.  John-,on 

North  Amherst,  " 
Salem, 

E.  iM,  Aiken 

Springfield,            " 

1' .  B   Currier.  ...                 ... 

W.  F.  Osborne 

n                                       H 

S.  H.Pratt 

Andiew  M   Wight  .           .    . 

"                     " 

W.  H.  Wymin  . 

-(A'yH'l);; 
Watertown,           " 

Providence,  R.  I. 

Edrt-ard  A.  Bentoii 

James  H.  (lilkey 

.s.  Albert  Gregg 

W.  L.  Rockwdl 

Geoige  S.  Turner 

K.  R.  Otis      

Merchant ^ 

Minister 

H    JNI    Purrington  . 

Lawyer 

Henry  H.  Wentworth 

William  L.  Raub 

Bristol,  Conn. 

Frank  A.  Keller  

A.  Peck...        

Norwich,  Conn. 

Charles  A.  Ha<^aman 

Teacher 

Albany,  N.  Y. 

A.  W.  Lansing 

Le  Roy  B.  McHorg 

Minister    

((            11 

Ed-.vaid  H.  Riidd 

Sidney  I -.  Gulick 

W.  H.  Hoople,  Jr. 

Brooklyn," 

George  \V.  Huntington 

C.  Knigl.t          

a            n 

i(            n 

Lester  D.  Mapes 

D    W    McWiiiiams  . 

Merchant       ...          .... 

11            t 

Minister 

ii                u 

U                   ti 

W.  D    Perry.                 

a             u 

A  uguEtus  15.  Prichard 

H.  J.  Reeve 

Minister 

i»             (( 

WiUard  S.  Sa-.vyer 

Feid.  Schicverea  

D.  H.  Toirey 

H.  E.  Wheeler 

J.  F.ckhnrdt 

W.J.Perry..    

George  R.  Smith 

Morgan  T    lewis 

W.  F.  Ottar^.on 

Josiah  Still 

Teacher 

Evangelist 

;:    :: 

jMerchant 

It        ti 

Buffalo,      " 

Mlnisier 

Merchant 

Minister 

Byron,        " 
Campbell," 
Cohoes,      " 
Lansingburgh,  N.  Y. 

it                    ti 

\V   L   Amerman 

Merchant       

Sanitary  Engineer 

New  York,  N.  Y. 

H.  E.  Bramley  .    .. 

Charles  I,  C  h.-imberlain 

tt               ti 

John  G.  F:i<?g 

kobert  [  rothingham 

James  Law 

Andrew  G.  Myers  .. 

Telegraph  Operator     .    . 

:;      :: 

It           ti 

Alfred  W  lliams 

Robert  P.  Wilder  

ti           tt 

A.  F    Williams 

Isaac  M.  Sutton 

J.M.Wright 

Plattshurgh.  " 
Poughkeepsie,  N.  Y. 

288 


CATALOGUE  OF  DELEGATES. 


Name. 

V0C.\TI0N. 

Address. 

E.  S.  Ferry 

Minister 

Riverhead   N   Y 

Harvey  R.  Travers 

Saratoga  Springs,  N.  Y 
Utica   N.  Y. 
Waterford,  N.  Y. 

\V.  M.Griffith 

E.  l>odenweber 

Merchant 

William  C.  Finck 

Elizabeth,  N.^J. 

Henry  R.  L.  Worrall 

R.  G.  Hutchinson,  Jr 

Charles  L.  Brian  t 

Montclair,     " 
Morristown,  " 

John  Crawford 

Harvey  J.  Genung 

U                          4t 

W.  E    Chalmers. 

Paterson,       " 

Joseph  A.  Robinson 



Plainfield       " 

Henry  Voung 

Merchant 

Trenton          " 

William  B.  Hoag 

Allegheny,  Pa. 
East  Berlin    Pa. 

Johij  J.  Stauffer 

Minister 

L.T.Conrad 

Klvsburgh,  Pa, 
Philadelphia   Pa. 
Chesapeake  City,  Md, 
Richmond,  Va. 

William  A.  Seiser 

F.  E.  Williams 

J.  H.  Busby 

George  H,  Wiley 

Merchant 

F.  R.  Robertson 

(t 

Martinsburgh,  W.  Va. 
Ashtabula   O 

Ira  B.  Bishop 

J.  S.  Crai^ie 

Evangelist 

Cleveland  O 

C.  E.  Miller 

Harry  Nyce 

Oberlin    O 

William  R.Lee 

Springfield,  0. 

M.C.Williams 

S.  J.  Humphrey  

Chicago,  111. 

Mrs.  S.  J.  Humphrey 

A.D.  Folger 

Ridge  Farm,  III. 
Tamaroa    ill. 

Mary  Blanchard 

R.  0.  Blanchard 

Townsend  Blanchard 

B.  G.  Roots 

((            ti 

Bert  C.  Wade 

St   Paul   Minn 

Edward  H.  Brown 

Minneapolis,  Minn. 
Independence,  Mo. 
Toledo,  Ont 

Tohn  W.  Clements 

W.  L  Drummond    

Harold  W.  huchanan 

Montreal,  Que. 
Winnipeg.  Man. 
Beverly,  Jamaica,  W.  I, 
Brown's  T'n    "           " 

F,  H.  Atkinson 

George  E.  Henderson 

Minister 

M.  H.  Hodder ... 

Merchant 

London.  Eng. 
Rome,  Italy. 

W.  C.  Van  Meter 

Missionary    

B 


wirri 


i 

i 

m 

^ 

9 

^M 

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